Wild Colours natural dyes > yellow dye plants > other yellow dyes

Other Traditional Yellow Dyes

Dyers’ Chamomile, Dyers’ Greenweed, Saw-wort and Tansy are the principal traditional yellow dyes apart from weld.

Saw-wort flowers

1. Saw-wort

2. Tansy

3. Dyers’ Chamomile (opens new page)

4. Dyers’ Greenweed (opens new page)

and More Yellow Dyes on the next page, including,
Dock, Eucalyptus, Onion & Osage Orange.

Saw Wort (Serratula tinctoria)

Saw-wort is a well-known dye plant in Europe and the flowers give a lemon-yellow colour.

It is in flower from July to September and the seeds ripen from August to September.

Both male and female saw-wort plants must be grown if seed is required.

Tansy

Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare)

Tansy is a perennial plant up to 1.5 metres in height, with finely divided leaves and is somewhat fern-like.

The flowers are yellow and button like and appear in clusters. The flowers have an unusual scent, similar to that of camphor, with hints of rosemary.

In the dye pot, the flowers give a pale golden yellow.

It is said that the flowers can be used to keep ants at bay and that fishermen sometimes put sprigs of tansy in their hats to keep mosquitoes away.




Back to

1. Weld

2. Rhubarb and

3. More Yellow Dyes

Dock, Eucalyptus, Onion, Safflower, Goldenrod & Osage Orange

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Updated on 04 April 2026
Website & photos by Mike Roberts ©2006-26 Wild Colours natural dyes