Many years ago I used alkanet root to bring light walnut stock wood to brown / light red. On my custom muzzle loaders I still use it on hard to darken curly maple. It worked well for walnut also but I went to mixing powders to get exactly the right color for each different stock. It’s easier and you can control the amount of red better or leave it out altogether.
For those wanting to try it, alkanet stain is prepared by compacting the roots in a two pound coffee can to a half full level. Place in a quart of boiled linseed oil (linseed oil is not really boiled, japan drier in small quantities are added). Place it on a stove and bring it to a boil. Be careful to have pliers ready to remove the can at the moment of boiling. If it boils over onto the stove it will create a lot of smoke and a hell of a mess.
The colored oil is put away to cool with the root in it. I store it in a wide mouth canning jar.
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