One of my favorite flowers is Coreopsis. She grows out in our yard wherever she wishes, returning each year with her yellow cheery heart and petals.
We have two kinds growing: Coreopsis Lanceolata and Coreopsis Tinctura. The latter is usually mentioned as specifically for dyeing. However – the C Lanceolata works better in my experiments.
Funny thing is that the plant is named “Coreopsis” after the shape of the seeds: bedbug! It comes from the Greek kore=bedbug, and opsis=like: “like a bedbug.” See illustration below.
My “incorrect” translation is a mere associative translation: “Heart of Sun.”
Besides her sunny presence, she can bring most beautiful reds and oranges and yellows when you make a dye or a paint paster from her flowers. She’s truly magical.
Click here to watch a little slideshow of the process of dyeing with Coreopsis.