It is used to make more rustic brooms, hard brooms with which to sweep stables, stables and also the streets. In other times it could also be used to make fences to keep livestock in. On the banks of the Burdelillo River, this plant is abundant, and there are places where it is impassable. In the Búrdalo, however, it is more difficult to find.
It is found in Spain and Portugal, on the banks of streams between the Duero and Guadalquivir basins, grouped in populations or thickets called “tamujares”, preferably on well-drained rocky soils.
It is a deciduous, branched shrub with rigid thorns, reaching an average of 2 m in height. The leaves are alternate, oval, dark green. In summer it takes on a reddish violet color. Dioecious, with unisexual flowers on differentiated plants. Capsule fruit with very little flesh, divided into 3 cavities, each with 2 seeds.
Although it has been used occasionally for medicinal purposes, its main use in the past was as a dye plant, which is where its scientific name comes from.
It has been used to manufacture rustic brooms, temporary fences and to make dyes.
Flueggea
Flueggea: generic name named after the German botanist Johannes Flüggé.
tinctoria
Latin epithet meaning “used for dyeing”.
