Isatidis Radix seed

LATIN NAME: Isatis tinctoria

COMMON NAME: Woad

The woad is the blue-green rosette of the old fields, and the loose clusters of the small, yellow flowers rise above the broad leaves. The upright, biennial plant carries the long, narrow, blue-green leaves and the loose, branching clusters of the small, bright-yellow, four-petalled flowers through the late spring, one of the fine, historic sights of the dye garden. The leaves have a very long record as the fine blue dye of the old cloth, and the roots hold a long record in the old practice of the warm East. It is a plant of the open, sunny, deep, moist, well-drained ground.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The woad is a historic subject of the plant science, and the blue-green rosettes keep showing up in the work on the old dye plants. The chemistry of the leaves, which yield the fine blue of the old cloth, has been studied at length, and it keeps appearing in the studies of the historic dye plants, the crucifer crops and the members of the cabbage family. The long, narrow leaves and the upright habit have also made it a fine study plant, and the woad is a regular subject of the work on the blue-green rosettes of the old world.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

The woad is a fine, historic plant of the dye garden and the old fields. The loose clusters of the small, bright-yellow, four-petalled flowers open through the late spring, and the leaves have a very long record as the fine blue dye of the old cloth, steeped into the deep blues of the old robes and the old war paint, while the roots hold a long record in the old practice of the warm East. The plant is one of the fine choices for the dye garden, the historic garden and the study collection, and it has been written up in the botanical and the heritage papers for the fine blues and the very long history. It is a fine, historic plant of the open, sunny, deep, moist, well-drained garden.

Cut the old stems down after the seeds and the fresh, blue-green rosettes will come again from the crown.

To grow the woad from seed, sow the small, brown seeds just under the surface of a tray of loose seed compost, keep the tray in a bright, open spot and water gently, then set the young plants out in the open ground. The seedlings appear within a couple of weeks and grow on steadily. With the sun and the deep, moist, well-drained ground, the blue-green rosette will rise into the yellow flower heads of the late spring.

　
Clears away heat to expel toxic substances, removes heat from the blood and soothes the throat.

For treating febrile diseases such as fever, headache and sore throat as well as a variety of ailments due to exuberant toxic heat, such as maculae (a stain, spot or thickening of the skin) caused by intense toxic heat, mumps, skin and external diseases, erysipelas (an acute febrile disease associated with intense local inflammation of the skin) and infection with swollen head: