Britannica Sources used in this answer

Which plants provided natural yellow dyes such as luteolin and quercetin?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Natural yellow dyes such as luteolin and quercetin are derived from specific plant sources:

  • Luteolin: This yellow pigment is obtained from the leaves of the weld plant, Reseda luteola. Historically, it was often combined with indigo to create "Lincoln green," a color famously associated with the legend of Robin Hood.1
  • Quercetin: This compound is found in the bark of the North American oak tree, Quercus tinctoria. It is also a primary component of quercitron bark, which comes from the inner bark of the black oak, Quercus velutina.12

Both luteolin and quercetin belong to the flavonoid family, a group of water-soluble phenolic compounds that are widely distributed in higher plants and responsible for many of the yellow and ivory pigments found in nature.13