Family: legumes (Fabaceae)
Flowering period: May–August
Size: 20–60 cm
Habitat: dry meadows, forest edges and sunny forests
Dyer's greenweed (Genista tinctoria) is a short, densely branched shrub. Its upright shoots are not thorny. In the upper part they are densely foliated with simple, lanceolate leaves. These leaves are 0.5 to 4.5 cm long, and 10 mm wide. The round stem and twigs are either glabrous or, in the upper part, slightly hairy. The bright yellow flowers of the dyer's greenweed on the tips of the shoots form 3 to 6 cm long racemes. The flowers are 8 to 16 mm long and are usually completely glabrous.
Its fruits – pods are 2 to 3 cm long and usually hairless. It is a poisonous plant, but because it yields abundant nectar and its nectar and pollen are not poisonous, beekeepers highly value it. Dyer's greenweed is a common species in Slovenia, growing on very poor soils in sunny locations throughout Slovenia.
