Logwood/Ek - Uncovering a True Name
Image of Ek / Logwood, Cayman Islands, www.iplantz.com
Only recently I found out what this beautiful and generous tree’s local, indigenous name is.
Ek is known around the world as ‘Logwood’ and I have always found that such a strange, and empty name. It is no name at all, but a description of its colonial use. This generous tree was heavily logged in Campeche, Mexico by the Spanish and traded all around the world. And so, another name I uncovered is Campeche, the area where it is from. However, this place name didn’t satisfy either, still not a true name for this Tree being.
‘Ek’ means ‘black’ and ‘star’ in Mayan; a beautiful name and meaning for a generous tree, memorable and charismatic. The meaning of black can easily be understood as referencing one of the many colours it offers. But ‘star’ is a little more…poetic. Unless we speak Mayan, it is hard to interpret. If anyone out there has studied Mayan, please let’s have a chat!I could imagine that stars are bright, and the dyes from this tree can be exceptionally bright, and range of hues like a night galaxy-strewn sky. Perhaps this ‘star’ reference is for another gift completely different to it’s pigment, something I can not guess without meeting the tree in person.
Other indigenous names given by the Aztecs are Huitzquauitl, Quamochitl and Curaque.
Ek has now travelled across the world and is grown in many places. In some places, it has thrived and been called an invasive species, like in Cuba. In Campeche it was once endangered, but as far as my sources tell me, it is now sustainably farmed. It is important if you work with Ek as a dye that you make sure it is from a sustainably farmed source and then you should be ok.
The heartwood of the tree is worked with as a dye, but the whole tree thankfully does not have to be cut in order to harvest. For some types of trees ‘coppicing’, or cutting branches every 5-10 years can encourage more growth. For more info on coppicing, visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk
Ek is known around the world as ‘Logwood’ and I have always found that such a strange, and empty name. It is no name at all, but a description of its colonial use. This generous tree was heavily logged in Campeche, Mexico by the Spanish and traded all around the world. And so, another name I uncovered is Campeche, the area where it is from. However, this place name didn’t satisfy either, still not a true name for this Tree being.
‘Ek’ means ‘black’ and ‘star’ in Mayan; a beautiful name and meaning for a generous tree, memorable and charismatic. The meaning of black can easily be understood as referencing one of the many colours it offers. But ‘star’ is a little more…poetic. Unless we speak Mayan, it is hard to interpret. If anyone out there has studied Mayan, please let’s have a chat!I could imagine that stars are bright, and the dyes from this tree can be exceptionally bright, and range of hues like a night galaxy-strewn sky. Perhaps this ‘star’ reference is for another gift completely different to it’s pigment, something I can not guess without meeting the tree in person.
Other indigenous names given by the Aztecs are Huitzquauitl, Quamochitl and Curaque.
Ek has now travelled across the world and is grown in many places. In some places, it has thrived and been called an invasive species, like in Cuba. In Campeche it was once endangered, but as far as my sources tell me, it is now sustainably farmed. It is important if you work with Ek as a dye that you make sure it is from a sustainably farmed source and then you should be ok.
The heartwood of the tree is worked with as a dye, but the whole tree thankfully does not have to be cut in order to harvest. For some types of trees ‘coppicing’, or cutting branches every 5-10 years can encourage more growth. For more info on coppicing, visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk
Image of a coppiced woods from www.parkscommunity.org.uk
Coppicing can extend the tree’s life span, and have a significantly positive effect on the biodiversity in a woodland by providing more habitat and allowing light onto the forest floor for other species to flourish. In effect, when humans coppice they are mimicking the larger browsing animals who are not around more, which the tree has evolved and adapted to.
In Ancient Ireland, the Hazel tree was worked with in this way and was a very important timber and food source. Coppicing is a wonderful example of a sustainable and regenerative farming practice and way of living well within our living world.
Working with Ek as a natural dye is a really wonderful experience and relatively easy. The purples, navy’s and blacks are so rich and velvety, there is surprise and delight at every step of the process. The first colour you see in the pot is a bright pink, then the purple develops…There is nothing better than the incense-like smell of simmering tree bark through the house. There are many tannins which give pigment in Ek, as well as haematoxylin which gives us the dark blues, purples and blacks.
In Ancient Ireland, the Hazel tree was worked with in this way and was a very important timber and food source. Coppicing is a wonderful example of a sustainable and regenerative farming practice and way of living well within our living world.
Working with Ek as a natural dye is a really wonderful experience and relatively easy. The purples, navy’s and blacks are so rich and velvety, there is surprise and delight at every step of the process. The first colour you see in the pot is a bright pink, then the purple develops…There is nothing better than the incense-like smell of simmering tree bark through the house. There are many tannins which give pigment in Ek, as well as haematoxylin which gives us the dark blues, purples and blacks.
Ek and Woad dyed silk scarf
At the moment I am working with Ek with alternative photographic processes as part of a mini residency with the Slow Camera Exchange www.theslowcameraexchange.com/
It is revealing a very true deep black when the cyanotype papers are soaked in the dye. Check out the image below of what looks like a sweet little Gecko from a series of antique glass plates I've been working with.
Thank you Ek!
Photo taken by Willie Farr from Passage West who sailed the seas Singapore and Vietnam around 1930 on antique glass plate, Cyanotype print toned with natural dye plant Ek. Courtesy of Joleen Cronin.
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