| CARDINAL | Senior Roman Catholic priest; scarlet colour; a species of fritillary butterfly; or, a bunting-like bird (8) |
| NIOBE | Daughter of Tantalus turned into a stone for boasting, whose name was given to a superconductive element as well as an asteroid and a species of fritillary butterfly (5) |
| YELLOWHAMMERS | Cirl bunting-like birds of open countryside with songs likened by some ornithologists to the phrase |
| YELLOWHAMMER | A bunting (bird) (12) |
| CROWNIMPERIAL | Garden plant, species of fritillary (5,8) |
| MONSIGNOR | The title of various senior Roman Catholic posts, such as a prelate or an officer of the papal court |
| ELFIN | A noun for a child/urchin, Fotis hairstreak butterfly or a pixie; or, an adjective meaning dainty, delicate, fairylike, impish, petite or sprightly (5) |
| LARGEWHITE | A "cabbage" butterfly or a major pig breed |
| RINGLET | British butterfly or a spiral curl of hair (7) |
| GERANIUM | From Greek for "crane", a plant with seedpods reminiscent of cranes' bills; a pelargonium; or, the pink, red or scarlet colour of many cultivated varieties of the aforesaid flower (8) |
| STRIPE | An old word for a whip to the flesh with a scourge or lash; a band of colour; a banded cloth or pattern, such as that in the Breton or candy style; or, a chevron on a sleeve (6) |
| ROSE | Flower of a plant related to apples; a diamond cut with facets mimicking said bloom's petals; a soft pink colour; a knot of ribbon on a shoe; or, a marigold window or oeil-de-boeuf (4) |
| BAND | A bar of colour; a belt; a binding for banknotes or braids; a body of brass instrumentalists, brothers, brumbies or burglars; or, a bond (4) |
| BIRDSEYE | A fermata; a kind of primrose, speedwell, tobacco or other plant with flowers of two contrasting colours; a small yet fiery red chilli pepper; a pattern of spotted diamonds; or, a term denoting a view |
| TINGE | From "to dip or colour", a word for a trace of indigo, pink, purple, violet or other colouring; or, by extension, a hint of a feeling, flavour, quality etc (5) |
| CLASH | Word imitative of a loud prang, a bang from two colliding armies, a jarring conflict of colours, a pile-up of events, a fight or a noisy Scottish claver/chat (5) |
| BUTTERFLY | With wings reflected in a lupin, sweet pea or other papilionaceous flower, a lepidopteran such as a "dice-box" fritillary or the nymphalid originally called a "red admirable" (9) |
| VERMILION | Chinese-red or scarlet colour of cinnabar, "fire-headed" flycatchers, garnets, holly berries, jewel-like pomegranate arils, poinsettia bracts, robins' breasts, rubies, St Nicholas's bishop's robes or |
| NATURAL | Synonym of organic, pure or raw; a buff colour; a person of innate talent; a white piano key; or, a musical note, neither flat nor sharp, denoted J (7) |
| BLOOM | A flower; a rosy colour; a healthy glow on one's cheeks; a fine powdery coating on chocolate, grapes or plums; or, a rapid seasonal flourish of algae (5) |
