Roucou; A Natural Colorant

In his 17th century book, accounting the Moral and Natural History of the West Indies (1658)*, De Rochefort describes the local uses of the Roucou Tree omnipresent in the region at the time of his visit.

The Walloon author gives a thorough description of the Tree which “grows no higher than a small orange-tree”, and has pointed leaves in the shape of a heart. The Roucou Tree also bears white mixed with carnation flowers that grow in little bushes at the tip of the branches. The flowers are preceeded by little pods which enclose several seeds the size of a pea. From theses ripe seeds of “the most bright and vermilion colour that can be imagined”, a flamboyant red dye is made. After describing the extraction process of the dye, Rochefort explains that it is dried and shaped into “lozenges and little balls which are very much esteemed by Painters and Dyers when they are pure.”

The root of the Roucou Tree was also used to give delicious flavor to meats, and when added to sauces it gave them the color and scent of saffron.

Today on St. Martin, Roucou is still used in traditional cooking for coloring purposes, but it can also be used in homemade cosmetics, i.e: a roucou based self-tanning oil.

*DE ROCHEFORT Charles, The History of the Caribby Islands, Book I; Natural History of Those Islands (1658), printed by J.M, London, 1666, p.43-44.