Dye Project: Lace Lichen (Fermentation)

For this project, I'm dyeing with lichen. Lichens are comprised of both fungi and algae living together as symbiotic biological entities. Lichens can produce brilliant dyes—in shades of yellow, orange, ochre, russet, brown, copper, bronze, olive, true green, pink, mauve, violet, red, rose, magenta, purple, and blues—depending on the fiber and dye method used. Three dye methods include fermenting in ammonia, boiling in water, and photo-oxidizing.

I'm using Lace Lichen, also known as Fishnet Lichen (Ramalina menziesii), the official state lichen of California. I plan to use the lichen and ammonia dye bath that I have been fermenting over the last four months and a protein-based silk scarf. I'm not sure what to expect—the dye may produce shades of olive-yellow to pale tan to buff tones, or shades of purple or pink.

Lace Lichen growing on a tree in Mendocino, California

Key Supplies

I'm using my usual dye equipment, including a convection burner, a non-reactive stainless steel dye pot, candy thermometer, strainer, cheese cloth, various plastic pails and containers for soaking and rinsing, a digital kitchen scale, stir stick, a mild pH-neutral soap (such as Synthropol or Professional Textile Detergent), rubber gloves, and a face mask. Additional supplies and equipment:

• Lichen: Lace Lichen, also known as Fishnet Lichen (Ramalina menziesii). I collected the lichen on our trip to Mendocino in the spring.

Lichen downfall after a big wind in Mendocino

• Glass jars with secure lids: for fermenting. I used two 4-cup jars. The lid for one of my jars was not very secure, so I lost a little of the dye liquid over time as I agitated the jar. The loss wasn't enough to transfer it to a new jar, but I'll make sure the lids are more secure in the next project.

• Ammonia: combine equal parts of clear ammonia and water (1:1 ratio) to create the fermentation bath.

• pH test strips: to test how alkaline or acidic the dye bath is.

• Fabric: 100% protein fibers like wool or silk (as with dyeing with mushrooms, protein fibers respond better to lichen than cellulose fibers). I'm using a silk scarf from Dharma Trading, which has been scoured and mordanted with alum. For details, see Dye Project: Preparing Protein Fabric (Scour &  Mordant). The scarf weighs 1 ounce or 28 grams. Note that you do not need to mordant fabric or fiber when dyeing with lichen, since lichens produce light and colorfast dyes.

• pH Modifiers: I hadn't planned to use any additional modifiers for this project, other than the scarf that is pre-mordanted with alum. I wanted to try the basics first. But I did end up adding a modifier to make the dye bath more acidic, and change the color outcome. See below!

Collecting the Lichen

Lichen is very slow-growing, so it should be collected responsibly. It is typically considered ethical to gather lichen that has been dislodged from its habitat, unless other restrictions apply. Only collect lichen that has fallen naturally from trees or rocks to protect the ecosystem, and only collect what you need.

I collected the lichen while on our trip to Mendocino, California in March. A big wind caused lichen downfall from the trees, so I was able to collect quite a bit from various locations. See Field Notes for March 2026, the March 9 entry.

Lace Lichen gathered from multiple sites in Mendocino

Fermenting the Dye

Fermentation extracts the color pigment from the lichen over a 3-16 week period. Ammonia fermentation is best for lichen that produces purples or pinks. According to Zoe McDonnel from Wildcraft Dyeing, you can test whether your lichen produces purples or pinks by dropping a few drops of bleach on it; if it turns purple or pink, fermentation is the best technique to use. I tested the Lace Lichen with a few drops of bleach but got no reaction. I'm going to use the fermentation method anyway, but am not sure what color will be produced. Possibly shades of olive-yellow to pale tan or buff tones with protein fibers like wool and silk.

Before you start, clean off any dirt or twigs from the lichen to ensure that they don't influence the dye color. Then, prepare the dye vat. Place the dried, crumbled lichen in a jar, filling it roughly half-full. I filled two 4-cup jars half-full with the clean lichen. Cover the lichen with a 50/50 mixture of water and household ammonia.

Lace Lichen fermenting in ammonia and water

Seal the jar and store in a warm place for 3–16 weeks. I started the fermenting process in mid-April (see Field Notes for April 2026, the April 22 entry) and used the kitchen window sill. Aerate by shaking the jar daily and opening weekly to introduce oxygen, which is essential for color development. The dye liquor turned a red-brown color within a couple of weeks and stayed that way for four months. Research indicated that it should turn to a deep magenta at some point, but that wasn't my experience. I ended the fermentation process in mid-August, after four months. The pH registered 11 (strongly alkaline).

Agitate the jar once daily, and aerate once weekly

I can see tinges of red, but the overall color is brown

Strain out the lichen solids from the fermented dye. I strained the lichen out of one of the jars, and obtained two cups (1/2 quart). The dye is definitely a brown color.

Straining the lace lichen dye liquor

Dyeing the Fabric (Alkaline)

 Dyeing fabric with lichen is very similar to dyeing with plants or mushrooms. Bring the dye bath to a simmer, pre-soak the silk or wool fabric or fiber in warm water, add the fabric to the dye pot, and simmer. One caveat is to make sure the temperature is very similar when going from one pot to another. For example, plunging cold silk into a hot dye bath causes shock shrinkage, uneven color, and weakened fibers. Better to add the cold silk to a cooled dye bath, or warm silk to a warm dye bath.

As with mushrooms, delayed rinsing improves color and light fastness. Casselman recommends that with lichen-dyed fibers, it is essential to cool the yarn before rinsing. Lichen-dyed fibers are more color and light fast if they are not rinsed for at least 24 hours; this stabilizes the dye and prevents after-dye runoff. She describes her technique for delaying rinsing in Lichen Dyes: The New Source Book (Dye Bath, page 27):

... first leave the fiber in the ammonia or boiled water dye bath to cool for 24 hours. Then, remove the fiber, place it in a colander over a pail and leave it another 24 hours. (What you collect can be reused.) After two days, rinse the fiber (which may be completely dry) in cold water. Even with dark colors, there will be very little dye run off, and your reward is improved fastness.

Strained lace lichen liquor (brown, but with a slight tinge of red

To prepare the dye bath, place the strained dye in a clean non-reactive pot. Casselman's recommendation is to add 1 cup of the dye liquor and 4 quarts of water to the pot, for one ounce of fiber. For more more intense color, use less fiber or more dye liquor. To obtain pastels, use more fiber or less dye liquor. I used just over two cups of dye liquor and 4 quarts of water to the pot (hoping to intensify whatever color I end up with)!

Casselman also recommends adding 1/2 cup (125 ml) salt to the dye bath. I haven't seen the instruction to add salt in any other source, so decided not to try it with this batch. If the idea is to use the salt as a mordant to enhance color and light fastness, my silk was pre-mordanted in alum, so should be fine without the salt.

The dye liquor has a brown-red cast to it

Bring the temperature of the dye bath to 150 to 180 °F. This typically takes about 30-60 minutes. I followed Casselman's recommendation to bring the temperature to a maximum of 180 °F (82 °C), and maintain the temperature for 10 minutes. Then, reduce the temperature to 160 °F (70 °C) and continue to heat gently for 1 hour, without boiling. While the dye bath is coming to temperature, pre-soak your wool or silk in warm water. This improves how the fabric takes up the dye.

Pre-soak the silk scarf in warm water

Add the fabric to the simmering dye pot and stir to distribute evenly. Add more water to cover the fabric if necessary. This will not dilute the dye; it just ensures better distribution of the dye to the fabric. Let simmer for about an hour, keeping the temperature between 150 to 180 °F. I tried to keep it at 160 °F.

Distribute the fabric in dye and simmer for an hour

Remove the dye pot from the heat, and use the delayed rinsing technique recommended by Casselman in Lichen Dyes: The New Source Book. Leave the fiber in the ammonia dye bath to cool for 24 hours. Then, remove the fiber, place it in a colander over a pail and leave it another 24 hours. (Any dye you collect can be reused.)

Letting the dye set (lace lichen alkaline dye bath)

After two days, rinse the fiber (which may be completely dry) in cold water. I ran the fabric through the washing machine to rinse, using cold water and no detergent. Hang to dry. The resulting color is a rather disappointing buff or beige. Two weeks later, wash with a mild pH-neutral soap, such as Synthropol or Professional Textile Detergent, to wash out unbound dye. Air dry out of direct sunlight. The resulting color is beige or buff.

Dyeing the Fabric (Acidic)

As mentioned above, the dye results using the lace lichen alkaline bath were disappointing (especially after all the months spent fermenting the dye bath)! This inspired me to use the rest of the dye liquor in a separate experiment, by changing the pH from alkaline to to acid [from  pH 11 (strongly alkaline) to pH 4 (moderately acid)].

I basically followed all the steps described above in "Dyeing the Fabric (Alkaline)", but altered the dye bath by adding the second jar of lace lichen dye liquor and 1 3/4 cups of white household vinegar to the dye bath. The pH registered 4 (moderately acid). Per Dorothy BeeBee in "How to Make a Natural Dye Using Lichens", Myra Made Color (June 4, 2022), when the dye bath registers pH 4, the acid releases pigment. It's unclear whether this is a universal principal or just true for Wolf Lichen.

The lace lichen acidic version already looks darker and more interesting

Letting the dye set (lace lichen acid dye bath)

After two days, rinse the fiber (which may be completely dry) in cold water. I ran the fabric through the washing machine to rinse, using cold water and no detergent. Hang to dry. The resulting color is golden brown. Two weeks later, wash with a mild pH-neutral soap, such as Synthropol or Professional Textile Detergent, to wash out unbound dye. Air dry out of direct sunlight. The resulting color is a golden brown (it looks closer to an orange in the photo, possibly because the picture was taken in the late afternoon, during golden hour).

The Results

The final results of dyeing with lace lichen included a buff or beige color for the alkaline bath (which actually has a richer tone in person than in the photo); and an interesting and complex golden brown color for the acidic bath. You can see that the color is not quite as "orange".

Left: lace lichen (fermented, alkaline dye bath)
Right: lace lichen (fermented, acidic dye bath)

I decided to store the unused acidic dye liquor for future dyeing experiments.

Store the dye for future projects

Note that I had been very disappointed to get such bland results with the fermented alkaline dye bath, but it was also exciting to change the pH of the dye bath and obtain different results with the fermented acid dye bath. This is what makes dyeing with plants, mushrooms, and now lichen, so exciting. It is an ongoing experiment and adventure!

Learn More

• Byrd, Margaret. "How to Make Natural Dyes with Lichen". Color Quest, December 9, 2022. Good overview, which includes information about the fermentation and boiling water methods, as well as a photo-oxidization method (color emerges when fiber is removed from the ammonia dye bath, similar to how indigo dye turns from green to blue when fabric is removed from the dye bat and is exposed to oxygen). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaYI7U7ZHEU

• Casselman, Karen Diadick. Lichen Dyes: The New Source Book (Dover Publications, 2001). Second edition of the original, published by Studio Vista Publications, 1996. This slim book is packed with information (see Lichen Dyes: The New Source Book).

• "How to Make a Natural Dye Using Lichens". Myra Made Color (June 4, 2022). Myra uses Wolf lichen (Letharia vulpina) to dye 100% wool with no mordant, using the water boiling dye process. BeeBee made an interesting comment that when the dye bath registers pH 4, the acid releases pigment. I'm not sure if this is a universal principal or just true for Wolf lichen, but worth exploring. https://youtu.be/RUUeAX4D1uE

• McDonnel, Zoe. "Introduction to Dyeing with Lichens", Wildcraft Dyeing (June 28, 2021). Describes what you need to know to get started natural dyeing with lichens. McDonnel discusses two types of dyeing (boiled water method and ammonia method). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8KfXIIUB_M

• Ramalina menziesii. Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramalina_menziesii

Alaskan Portraits in Lichen

During our trip to Alaska, my Aunt Char and I visited Mendenhall Glacier with my brother, Dave and sister-in-law, Karen (see Alaska - The Last Frontier). I was curious about what species of lichen we would see so close to the glacier. I've been observing the lichen in our yard in the San Francisco Bay Area (see Portraits in Lichen and More Portraits in Lichen). How would they compare with lichen in a colder and wetter environment?

Map lichen (Rhizocarpon geographicum) the yellow thalli
Per iNaturalist, the pinkish organism to the right is a fungus (Anaptychia runcinata)

Orange lichen (Caloplaca spp.)

Some of the area around the glacier had been covered by ice over the last one or two hundred years while the glacier receded, so the exposed land is relatively "new" and lichen is slow growing. While pondering all of this and taking pictures of lichen, a stranger at the glacier humorously informed me that I was photographing a rock. Sigh. The mysteries of the universe were lost on him.

Orange boulder lichen detail (Porpidia flavocaerulescens)

Orange boulder lichen in community

I'm expanding my lichen vocabulary a bit, using the glossary in Casselman's Lichen Dyes: The New Source Book. Knowing a few terms can help you describe what you are seeing, and then find out more information. Some basics:

• apothecia - cusp-shaped disks on the upper cortex of the lichen that contain asci (spores).

• cortex - either surface of a lichen (top: dorsal or upper cortex; bottom: ventral or lower cortex).

• substrate - surface to which a lichen is attached, such as a rock or a tree.

• thallus - the entire lichen (plural "thalli").

These white lichens stand out against the dark granite boulders, but are difficult to identify. It is surprising how many species are growing together in communities over the glacial boulders.

Tile lichen (Lecidea tessellata)

White rim lichen (Lecanora rupicola)

After spending time with lichen in both the Bay Area and Juneau, Alaska, I think I need to get closer with a magnifying hand lens! Still, I had fun trying to identify the species we encountered.

Learn More:

• Alaska.org - a travel website dedicated to Alaska. Check out the resources, and search for "lichens" to learn more about the lichen species in Alaska (https://www.alaska.org/search?query=lichens).

• Lichens around Mendenhall Glacier, by Chiska C. Derr and Robert H. Armstrong. Nature Alaska Images, Juneau, Alaska, 2010. The authors describe what lichen is and is not, habitats, lifecycle, and how to identify them. I especially liked their quote from lichenologist Trevor Goward, “lichens are fungi that have taken up agriculture”. I was intrigued to learn that lichens that contain cyanobacteria are nitrogen fixers, so important for soil development.

• Lichen Dyes: The New Source Book, by Karen Diadick Casselman. Dover Publications, Inc., Mineola, New York (2001). This is a wonderful resource for the dyer wishing to extract dye from lichen. The glossary provides some succinct definitions relating to lichen.

• Lichens of Alaska's South Coast. United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Alaska Region (R10-RG-190, Reprint April 2014). Photographs by Karen L. Dillman and drawings by Alexander Mikulin. Great photos, drawings, and descriptions of some of the Alaskan lichen we saw.

• Naturalist Trevor Goward Helps to Overturn a 150-Year-Old Truth of Science, by Erica Gies. Scientific American, June 1, 2017. This article provides more information about the discovery that yeast is a third partner, with fungus and alga (and/or cyanobacterium), for some lichen species. Goward is a naturalist working in British Columbia. Blog: Ways of Enlichenment.

• Southeast Alaska Fungi (including lichens). Google Photos is installed on my smartphone and it uses iNaturalist to identify plants and animals in the photos that I upload. This is typically how I start identifying what I photograph (but the app is not alway perfect and its operator is still learning)!

More Portraits in Lichen

I've been marvelling at the lichens in our yard this rainy season. With the ongoing and sustained moisture levels, they have flourished and expanded. Lichen is a composite of algae or cyanobacteria living among fungi species with yeast being a possible third partner. They all live together in a mutualistic relationship (we humans should take note of the possibilities). Here are a few more lichen shots from our yard (see Portraits in Lichen for more).

Lichen and moss living side by side on an old fence

Lichen and ivy sharing another fence
(the lichen is lignicolous - grows on wood stripped of bark) 

In previous years of drought, the lichen remained but was not as plumped up and spongy. With the extra water this year, the lichen is thriving.

This greenshield lichen thrives on an ancient rhodie branch

A saxicolous lichen (grows on rocks)

With our landscaping project this year, I'm concerned about preserving as much of the moss and lichen as possible. Lichen is very slow growing, and takes time to establish.

Lichen and moss flourish on an informal rock planter

Another saxicolous lichen

Even with my preservation plans, next year might be a prime time to experiment with dyeing with lichen. Reading Lichen Dyes: The New Source Book by Karen Diadick several years ago, piqued my interest in all the dye colors that lichen can produce, including shades of red, gold, brown, yellow, and purple. Even if the local lichens turn out to be colorless, lichen can also be used as a mordant. Until then, enjoy these portraits in lichen from our Bay Area yard.

Portraits in Lichen

The lichens in our yard are doing really well this season with all the extra moisture and dank days. From Wikipedia, "A lichen is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship." According to scientists at Purdue University, yeast may be a third partner that helps defend the colony. Lichens are slow-growing and just need a structure to support them. They make their own food, are not parasites, and do not carry disease.

A saxicolous lichen (grows on rocks),
visible from the kitchen window

Oakmoss lichen (Evernia prunastri),
found in the side yard

I've made an attempt to identify a few species in our yard, using Lichens of the SF Bay Area by iNaturalist. Some forms are very distinctive, and easy to identify. Others are very complex and difficult to distinguish for the beginner. They are colonies, afterall, so may grow in various combinations.

Green rock shield ? (Xanthoparmelia spp.)

Common greenshield lichen (Flavoparmelia caperata)

I found a few descriptive phrases that are handy to know while getting started. Saxicolous lichen grows on rocks; corticolous lichen grows on bark; lignicolous lichen grows on wood that is stripped of bark; and terricolous lichen grows on soil or the ground. Freshwater and marine lichens can occur submerged or in varying water levels. Foliose lichens produce leaf-like flattened, lobed thallus; fruticose lichens grow erect with visible fruiting bodies; and crustose lichens form a crust over their host. With those terms you can at least start describing what you see!

A saxicolous lichen (grows on rocks)

A lignicolous lichen (grows on wood stripped of bark)

I plan to protect these beautiful specimens as much as I can during our landscaping project. They add a lot of character to the yard, and are interesting to observe over time. I also have plans to use some specimens in future dye projects, to see if they yield any interesting colors. Hope you've enjoyed these portraits in lichen.

Historical Plant Dyes

Various plant dye sources have been used since ancient history. Pliny the Elder recorded information about dyes in the 100s,  monks recorded information in the middle ages, and the Linnaeus Apostles recorded information in the 1700s.

Following is a short list of common plants used historically for dyeing. Note that the original color of the plant material is no predictor of the dye color. Dyeing is a fine mix of chemistry and artistry, from the fixatives and mordants used to bind the dye to the fiber, to the base or acidity of the water, to the season when the dye source is gathered. Notice that several of the Latin plant names include a variation of the word "tinctorium", which indicates the plant is a known dye source.

Plant	Description	Notes
Madder (Rubia tinctorum)	Dried root	Red
Indigo (Indigo tinctoria)	Leaves and stems	Deep blue (appears green in the vat, then turns blue when exposed to the air). For green, dye yellow first, then indigo).
Dyer's weld (Reseda luteola)	Leaves and flowers	Yellow
Woad (Isatis tinctoria)	Leaves	Pastel blue (the color of France).
Brazil wood (Caesalpinia sp.)	Heartwood	Red
Osage (Maclura pomifera)	Fruit	Orange
Cochineal (Dactylopius coccus)	Scale insect harvested from cactus	Red
Buckthorn (Rhamnus tinctoria)	Fruit	Yellow
Lichen (various)	Organism	Shades of apricot, yellow, gold, brown, blue, purple, black and green, depending on the fungi species.
Black walnut (Juglans nigra)	Walnut hulls	Brown

This is not an exhaustive list of plant-based dyes. Humans are an innovative lot, and have used a variety of dyes throughout history, both from local sources and through trade. But it is a good start for our purposes. We'll learn more about some of these natural dye sources that have been used throughout history, as well as a few others.

Lichen

Many people become concerned when they see lichen growing on their trees, wondering if their tree has a disease. However, lichen, like moss, is not a plant parasite. Instead, the lichen is using the structure of the tree for physical support, but is not tapping the tree for its nutrients.

Lichen and moss hitching a ride on a Rhododendron

Lichen is a composite organism, which consists of a fungus and a photosynthetic partner (such as green alga or cyanobacterium) growing together in a symbiotic relationship. This organism produces its own food via photosynthesis, and absorbs moisture from the environment.

Lichen is a composite organism, but not a plant parasite

The Integrated Pest Management (IPM) site indicates that you can use herbicidal soaps to control mosses, lichens, and algae. But, personally, I like the look of lichen and moss growing naturally on trees.