A dye so valuable it may have financed the Renaissance — the orchil trade reputedly built the fortune of the Rucellai family of Florence.
A red or violet dye obtained from certain lichens, especially species of Roccella, used in dyeing textiles and as a litmus indicator.
From Old French orcheil, possibly from a Mediterranean or Arabic source, ultimately uncertain Key roots: orcheil (Old French: "lichen dye (uncertain origin)").
The orchil dye industry may have given the powerful Florentine Rucellai family their name and fortune. According to tradition, a Rucellai ancestor discovered how to extract the precious purple dye from Roccella lichens, and the family's wealth from the orchil trade helped finance some of the great artistic commissions of Renaissance Florence.