1. a red or violet dye obtained from lichens, especially used for staining biological specimens
Usage: chemistry; biology

Examples

• The laboratory technician used orcein to stain the plant tissue samples.
• Orcein is commonly employed in microscopy to highlight cellular structures.
• The biologist prepared an orcein solution for chromosome staining.
• Historically, orcein was extracted from certain species of lichens.
• The red coloration in the specimen was achieved using orcein dye.
• Orcein staining revealed the detailed structure of the cell walls.