In his book Flower Lore, Rev. Hilderic Friend tells us that “The Whortlebury, emblem of Treason, growing in wastes, affords a juice which was often used in more dangerous times to stain and disfigure the face.”

I'm not sure why “the emblem of treason” but the use of blueberries as a dye was apparently fairly common throughout history.

Here is an informative piece on the making and use of anthocyanin pigments in illumination.

This young Gentle gives a good account of how to make berry ink, although it makes me want to remind everyone that berry juice stains clothing.

I found this Good Gentle's site utterly fascinating. If you read it through, he mentions that he uses bilberry as a pigment for the illumination. I have always known that berry pigment was not lightfast but he points out that inside a book it will last indefinitely.

Paper isn't the only thing that benefits from a bit of color. People also like fabric to be pretty and colorful. Natural dyes tend not to be too intense and they generally fade fairly quickly. The way our ancestors dealt with that was to re-dye the cloth periodically. Fortunately, it's not all that difficult or costly when you're using natural dyes gathered locally.

One source I read said that after they go gathering, they separate the good berries from the overripe or damaged ones, then eat the pretty ones and dye with the others. What a great idea!

And this is a good general discussion about dyeing with berries.

Here's a wonderful list of plants that can be used for natural dyes.

There is also the time-honored association of berrying with romance. Perhaps there is something to Rev. Friend's assertion of negative associations of blueberries.

Do you know of another way that blueberries have been used by people or have influenced society in some fashion? I'd love to hear about it in the comments below. Thanks for stopping by!