blitum

Updated: May 22, 2025

So forth he went to a hemlock tree, and cut till he could gather the inner pink bark, which, boiled with the quills, turned them a dull pink; similarly, alder bark furnished rich orange, and butternut bark a brown. Oak chips, with a few bits of iron in the pot, dyed black. "Must wait till summer for red and green," said the Indian. "Red comes only from berries; the best is the blitum.

Ernest Thompson Seton - Rolf in the Woods

So they sought in a sunny place along the shore, and found the fruit of the squawberry or blitum. "See," said Akoko, "the miscawa. Gather a handful, my Nagami. They make the red basket-dye." They crushed the rich red berries, saving the red juice in a clam shell, and soaked a few strands of the white willow bark in the stain.

Ernest Thompson Seton - Woodland Tales