old fustic

dye

Also known as: yellowwood

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Last updated

July 1, 2026

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Fustic refers to two natural dyes. Old fustic, also known as yellowwood, comes from the heartwood of the dyer's mulberry tree (Chlorophora tinctoria). This dye, when used with chromium salts as a mordant, produces yellow hues on wool. Young fustic, or zante fustic, is derived from the wood of the smoke tree (Cotinus coggygria). Both old and young fustic have largely been replaced by synthetic dyes.1

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fustic
Old fustic, or yellowwood, is derived from the heartwood of dyer’s mulberry, a large, tropical American tree (Chlorophora tinctoria, or Maclura tinctoria) of the mulberry family, Moraceae. The dye produces yellows on wool mordanted (fixed) with chromium salts.
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Old fustic, or yellowwood, is derived from the heartwood of dyer’s mulberry, a large, tropical American tree (Chlorophora tinctoria, or Maclura tinctoria) of the mulberry family, Moraceae. The dye produces yellows on wool mordanted (fixed) with chromium salts.
Read More