Fabric swatches dyed with buckthorn seed powder in yellow, gold and olive shades

Persian Berries Dye Guide: Turkish Buckthorn (Cehri) Yellows

Persian berries are the dried unripe berries of dyer's buckthorn, and they give some of the brightest, warmest yellows in natural dyeing. In Turkey they are called cehri; in France graines de Perse or graines d'Avignon. This guide shows you how to dye with Persian berries on wool, silk, cotton and linen: how much whole berries, powder and extract to use, how to shift the yellow to gold, orange and olive, and what history and chemistry sit behind this classic Anatolian dye.

What is buckthorn dye?

Buckthorn dye comes from the small dried fruits of Rhamnus shrubs. Turkish cehri is mainly Rhamnus petiolaris, a thorny shrub native to the dry, rocky steppe of Central Anatolia. In Europe, other buckthorns such as R. saxatilis and R. alaternus were sold as "Avignon berries". Dyers often call the dried fruits "seeds", but they are whole berries. The best yellow comes from berries picked unripe and dried: as the fruit ripens, its bright yellow colorant changes into a paler one.

The main colorants are flavonoids such as rhamnetin, with smaller amounts of the anthraquinone emodin. These molecules need a mordant to bond well to fiber. That is why buckthorn is a mordant dye: without alum the color is pale and fades quickly.

  • Alum mordant: clear, warm yellow to rich gold.
  • Iron afterbath: olive, khaki and moss green.
  • Alkaline afterbath: deeper gold with orange tones.
  • Overdyed with indigo: fresh to deep greens.
  • Overdyed with madder: warm oranges.

Buckthorn yellow is warmer than weld yellow. Weld gives a cool lemon tone. Buckthorn leans toward gold. If you want a cooler yellow, see our weld recipes.

Note: buckthorn bark is a different dye. It gives mustard and rusty tones and works without a mordant. This guide covers the berries only.

Persian, Turkish or Avignon berries? The names explained

"Persian berries" is a trade name, not a botanical one. In the 19th century the berries sold in Europe as Persian berries were shipped mainly from Smyrna (İzmir) and Aleppo, and dyers ranked them above the smaller French Avignon berries. "Turkish berries" was a second commercial grade of the same product.

Language Names
English Persian berries, Turkish berries, yellow berries, Avignon berries, buckthorn berries, dyer's buckthorn
Turkish cehri
French graines de Perse, graines d'Avignon, graine jaune, nerprun des teinturiers
German Gelbbeeren, Kreuzdornbeeren
Spanish / Italian bayas persas / giallo d'Avignone

Tip: French shops often sell ripe baies de nerprun, which give greens. For bright yellows you need the unripe berries, like Turkish cehri.

From the Anatolian steppe to France: a short history

  • Where it grew: Ottoman records name Kayseri as the largest cehri-growing area and İskilip (Çorum) as the source of the best berries. Konya, Niğde, Nevşehir, Tokat and Zile also traded it.
  • A major export: cehri was one of the taxed Ottoman dye goods, together with madder, oak galls and valonia. In 1852 İzmir alone exported about 650 tonnes.
  • France, the main buyer: by the late 19th century France was buying about 90% of all Ottoman cehri exports. French dyers used it for yellows on silk, and painters used the yellow lake pigment stil de grain, made from Avignon, Turkish and Persian berries.
  • In Anatolian textiles: buckthorn yellows have been identified in Ottoman-period carpets and silks, and in 19th-century Hereke carpets.
  • Decline: synthetic dyes replaced cehri in industry from the late 19th century. Today it is valued again by natural dyers, especially in France.

What makes the yellow: chemistry

The colorants are flavonols (rhamnetin, rhamnazin, quercetin and kaempferol, bound to sugars as rhamninosides) plus the anthraquinone emodin. A Turkish study of R. petiolaris found that aluminium binds both rhamnetin and emodin, while iron binds mainly emodin. That is why alum gives clear yellows and iron gives olive and khaki.

Whole berries, powder or extract: which form should you use?

We sell buckthorn in three forms. They all give the same family of colors. The difference is strength, ease and cost.

Form Rate (% WOF) Start at Best for
Whole Persian berries 20–100% (about 50% for deep gold) 30% Traditional dyeing, several baths from one batch
Persian berry powder 10–20% 15% Strong color with less soaking time
Persian berry extract 4–10% 5% Clean, even color, small batches, printing

Use the higher end of each range for deep gold. Use the lower end for pale lemon and butter tones. Whole berries release color more slowly than powder, so you need more of them. Crushing them helps a lot. Turkish studies dyed wool with 20% crushed cehri for a dark yellow and tested 25–100%.

Tip: % WOF means weight of fiber. For 100 g of dry wool at 15% WOF, use 15 g of powder. Our natural dye calculator does the math for you.

Before you start: scour and mordant

Good yellows need clean, well-mordanted fiber. Scour first to remove oils and finishes. See how to prepare fiber for natural dyeing.

Wool and silk (protein fibers)

  • Alum: 10–15% WOF.
  • Cream of tartar: 6–7% WOF (optional, for wool). It keeps wool soft and gives a brighter, clearer yellow.

Full steps are in our guide to mordanting wool and silk.

Cotton and linen (cellulose fibers)

  1. Tannin bath: white oak gall powder at 8–15% WOF. White oak gall is the clearest tannin, so it dulls yellow the least.
  2. Alum bath: alum at 12–15% WOF with soda ash at about 1.5–2% WOF to neutralize.

See mordanting cotton and linen for details. To compare how different mordant methods change buckthorn color, read our buckthorn mordant comparison.

Recipe 1: Bright yellow with alum

For 100 g of dry, alum-mordanted fiber.

  1. Prepare the dye. Whole seeds: crush 30 g in a mortar or wrap them in a cloth and tap with a hammer. Soak overnight in hot water. Powder: mix 15 g with a little warm water to a smooth paste. Extract: dissolve 5 g in hot water.
  2. Extract the color (seeds and powder). Simmer gently for 45–60 minutes. Strain through a fine cloth. Keep the seeds for a second bath.
  3. Fill the dye pot. Add the dye liquid to enough water for the fiber to move freely. About 3–4 litres (1 US gallon) per 100 g works well.
  4. Add the fiber. Add wet, mordanted fiber to a warm (not hot) bath.
  5. Heat slowly. Bring the bath to 80–85 °C (176–185 °F) over 30–45 minutes. Hold for 45–60 minutes. Stir gently.
  6. Cool. Let the fiber cool in the bath, or overnight for deeper color.
  7. Rinse and wash. Rinse in water of a similar temperature. Wash with a pH-neutral soap. Dry in the shade.

Tip: Do not boil. A hard boil can make flavonoid yellows duller and browner.

Tip: The exhaust bath still holds color. Add more mordanted fiber for paler lemon shades.

Recipe 2: Olive and khaki with iron

Iron turns buckthorn yellow into olive, khaki and soft moss green. Use iron (ferrous sulfate) as an afterbath.

  1. Dye your fiber yellow with Recipe 1. Rinse.
  2. Dissolve iron in hot water in a separate jar. Use 0.25–1% WOF for wool and silk. Use 0.5–2% WOF for cotton and linen. Start at 0.5%.
  3. Add the iron solution to a pot of warm water (about 40 °C / 104 °F) and stir well.
  4. Add the wet yellow fiber. Move it constantly to avoid spots.
  5. Watch the color. It shifts within minutes. Lift it out when you like the shade, usually after 5–20 minutes.
  6. Rinse well and wash with pH-neutral soap.

Tip: Less iron gives a clean olive. More iron gives khaki and brown-green. Never go above 1% WOF on wool or silk. Iron makes protein fibers harsh. Read our iron mordant guide for more.

Tip: Keep a separate pot for iron. Small traces left in a pot will dull your next yellow.

Recipe 3: Deep gold and orange tones with an alkaline afterbath

Flavonoid yellows become deeper and warmer in alkaline water. A short alkaline dip turns buckthorn yellow toward deep gold and orange-gold.

  1. Dye your fiber yellow with Recipe 1. Use 15–20% powder or 7–10% extract for a strong base.
  2. Dissolve 1–2 g of soda ash per litre of lukewarm water.
  3. Dip the wet fiber for 2–10 minutes. Watch the color warm up.
  4. Rinse well.

Tip: Wool and silk do not like strong alkali or heat together. Keep this dip lukewarm and short for protein fibers. Cotton and linen can take a warmer, longer dip.

A gentler option for wool: add chalk (calcium carbonate) at 2–4% WOF to the dye bath itself. This raises the pH a little and gives warmer gold.

For a true orange, overdye buckthorn yellow in a light madder bath. See our madder guide. For green, overdye in a light indigo vat with natural indigo.

Protein vs cellulose fibers

Wool and silk take buckthorn very well. You get bright, saturated yellow with alum alone. Wool gives the deepest golds. Silk gives a glowing, lighter yellow.

Cotton and linen need the tannin-then-alum mordant. Colors are a little softer and more golden. The tannin layer also helps iron shifts give deeper olive. Use slightly more dye than for wool, often the top of each range.

Research also supports buckthorn on wool. A 2023 study dyed wool with buckthorn berries and leaves using different metal mordants. Most washing, rubbing, perspiration and light fastness results ranged from 3 to 5. The dyed wool also blocked much of the UV light.

Is Persian berry yellow lightfast?

Honestly: moderately. Wash-fastness on alum-mordanted wool and silk is good, but like most flavonoid yellows it fades faster in light than weld. A Turkish study on wool carpet yarn found lightfastness from 1 to 8 depending on the mordant and method, and a National Gallery study found weld the least fugitive of the historic yellows. To get the most from it, use a full alum mordant, add cream of tartar on wool, and keep finished pieces out of strong sun. For the most lightfast greens, dye indigo first and overdye with the yellow.

Safety

Persian berries are for dyeing only. Buckthorn berries contain natural laxative compounds (anthraquinones such as emodin), so never eat them and keep them away from children and pets. Use dedicated dye pots, and wear a dust mask when you grind berries or measure powder.

Troubleshooting

  • Yellow is pale. Check your mordant. Unmordanted fiber gives weak color. Use more dye or let the fiber cool overnight in the bath.
  • Yellow looks dull or brownish. The bath was too hot, or the pot held traces of iron. Keep below a simmer and use a clean, iron-free pot.
  • Color is patchy. The fiber was dry or crowded. Always add wet fiber and use enough water. Stir often in the first 15 minutes.
  • Specks on the fiber. Powder was not fully mixed or the seed liquid was not strained. Make a smooth paste first and strain through fine cloth.
  • Olive is too dark or grey. You used too much iron. Start with 0.25–0.5% WOF next time.
  • Yellow faded in the sun. Flavonoid yellows are sensitive to light. Use a full alum mordant, add cream of tartar on wool, and avoid drying in direct sun.

Frequently asked questions

What are Persian berries?

Persian berries are the dried unripe berries of dyer's buckthorn (Rhamnus). Turkish cehri, mainly Rhamnus petiolaris, is the classic source. They give warm yellows and golds on mordanted fiber.

Are Persian berries from Persia?

Not usually. "Persian berries" is an old trade name. In the 19th century the berries sold in Europe under that name were shipped mainly from Smyrna (İzmir) and Aleppo, and most were grown in Anatolia.

Do Persian berries need a mordant?

Yes. Use alum at 10–15% WOF on wool and silk. On cotton and linen, use a tannin bath first, then alum at 12–15% WOF. Without a mordant the yellow is pale and fades quickly.

How much Persian berries do I need?

Whole berries: 20–30% WOF for a full yellow, about 50% for deep gold. Powder: 10–20% WOF. Extract: 4–10% WOF. Start at 30%, 15% and 5% respectively.

How do I get green from Persian berries?

A light iron afterbath (0.25–1% WOF) turns the yellow olive or reseda green. For bright greens, dye blue in indigo and overdye with Persian berries.

Persian berries or weld?

Both give fine yellows. Persian berries are warmer and more golden; weld is a cooler lemon yellow and more lightfast.

Is buckthorn berry dye the same as buckthorn bark dye?

No. The unripe berries give bright yellow and need a mordant. The bark gives mustard and rusty tones and can work without a mordant.

Sources and further reading

Related: Buckthorn mordant comparison · Weld dye recipes · Alum mordant guide · Natural yellow dyes

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