The European smoketree (Cotinus coggygria), also known as smoke bush, Venetian sumach, or dyer's sumach is a species of flowering plant in the family Anacardiaceae, native to a large area from southern Europe, east across central Asia and the Himalayas to northern China. The wood was formerly used to make the yellow dye called young fustic. From the Middle Ages onwards, the heartwood and leafy branches of smoke bush were widely used in Europe, especially Italy, for dyeing silk & wool (young fustic), often in combination with other yellows, such as weld, as the yellow shade from young fustic tends to have a reddish hue.
In addition, it was used with many other dyes to create a variety of colours and was not only versatile but also more economical than some other yellow dyes, as the heartwood has considerable tinctorial power. Its main disadvantage would seem to be its relatively poor fastness when compared with dyes such as weld, as most shades from young fustic tend to change to russet over time. It is rich in tannin, so when used with iron it gave deep, full shades. Young fustic continued to be of economic importance until the 19th century, and is used even today, including in Istria.
About the stamp
The stamp is part of a series Official Issue of Personalised Postage Stamps, about which I wrote here.
References
Smoke Tree (Cotinus coggygria) - Jenny Dean's wild colour
Sender: Slavica Radej (direct swap)
Sent from Brestanica (Styria / Slovenia), on 29.08.2017
Photo: Ubald Trnkoczy / Zaloznik: Katika Vukovic
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