Lichee red, gardenia yellow Vegetable dyes have a long history in Taiwan. Both the indigenous people and early immigrants from China knew how to extract pigment from certain flowers, plants, or seeds, and how to prepare cloth and set dyes using clean river water. For example, the blue dyes used in the Sanhsia and Meinung areas go back quite a long time.
植物染在台灣有長久的歷史，不論是原住民或是清代移民，婦女們都懂得採些富含色素的花草或種子當染料，再以清澈的溪水當漂洗場，像是三峽、美濃一代的藍染就有多年歷史。