material

Tragacanth

Colors & materials

A gum from Astragalus shrubs used as a binder for pastels, pills, and water media. Not gum-arabic, and not hide-glue.

Also known as Gum tragacanth · Astragalus gum

  • Tragacanth is used in Medicine.

    Dioscorides’ De Materia Medica lists tragacanth (τραγάκανθα) gum among softening binders used in lozenges and eye compounds. A named tragacanth in that handbook, not gum arabic as the acacia gum beside it and not a modern pastel-binder dump alone.

    from Pedanius Dioscorides · De Materia Medica, 1st century CE

    used in · sourced · documented

sources