It has the following varieties: and formae: It is used to make litmus, a mixture of several organic compounds.

[1] This includes royal purple colors derived from roccella tinctoria, also known as orseille.

[2] The process of making this dye was a secret and lead to the wealth of the weavers of Grainville-la-Teinturière and the Rucellai family of Florence, whose family name is related with the Latin name of the plant, oricellum.

[3] There has been speculation that the abundance of roccella tinctoria on the Canary Islands offered a profit motive for Jean de Béthencourt during his conquest of the islands.

Orcinol, a natural phenolic organic compound, occurs in many species of lichens[4] including R.