Trolley 667

Two more trolleys from the Kokoro Passage on Thursday, one small and one medium from the M&S food hall.

The two entangled trolleys from B&M are still there, some days after they first appeared.

After which I headed out on the Ewell Village anti-clockwise, picking up this fine bed of blue alkanet on the way. The flowers might be small, but their deep blue colouring is very pleasing.

A flower I think I first came across on the platform at Raynes Park, subsequently identified by FIL. But checking, I find that it is actually called green alkanet (Pentaglottis sempervirens), despite the blue flowers. And while FIL got us started, a bit more delving was needed to finish off the identification. For all of which see references 2 and 3. Another memory problem.

While going back to reference 4, it all seems to be part of the muddle I am getting into with those other members of the large Borage family (Boraginaceae), the comfreys. Although I might say that the cutting mentioned there did come into blue flower before being thrown away.

In the margins, I learn about dyer's alkanet, at reference 5, the flowers of which are blue and the roots of which are used to make a red dye. With the dye behaving rather like litmus paper (of school chemistry classes), which one might have thought made it unsuitable to be a dye. With litmus actually being one of a number of lichens, seemingly known to the Vikings for dyeing. With the name alkanet presumably something to do with the alkali and alkaline of chemistry. But that will have to wait until tomorrow.

PS: Sunday morning: probably not. Alkali is derived from the Arabic for certain marine plants from which alkaline ash could be obtained. There also seems to be a connection with alchemy. Whereas alkanet is derived from the Arabic for the terrestrial plant from the roots of which they obtained the red dye called henna. To be distinguished from the different alkanet from which we take red dye.

References

Reference 1: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2024/04/trolley-666.html.

Reference 2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentaglottis.

Reference 3: https://pumpkinstrokemarrow.blogspot.com/2011/02/. The entries for the 28th and the 24th in particular.

Reference 4: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2024/03/trolley-643.html.

Reference 5: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alkanna_tinctoria.

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