Isatis tinctoria seeds

LATIN NAME: ISATIS TINCTORIA

COMMON NAME: Woad, Dyers Woad, Ban Lan Gen

The woad is a handsome and ancient herb of the fields, and it has given the world one of the oldest of the blue dyes. It grows as an erect, branching biennial or perennial of the cabbage family, reaching up to a metre or more, with upright, branching stems bearing alternate, narrow, oval, pointed, bluish-green leaves, the upper ones clasping the stems, and, in the early summer, broad, flat clusters of many small, bright-yellow, four-petalled flowers, followed by the small, hanging, black-purple pods of the few seeds. It is a species of the flowering herb, native to the fields and the waysides of Europe and the western Asia, while it is grown for its long history as a dye plant and its use in the traditional ways of the region, and it is known as the woad.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The woad has a real and distinguished place in research. It has been studied in the history and the chemistry of the dyes, since the woad is one of the oldest of the dye plants of the world, and the leaves of the plant yield the blue dyestuff that was used for a very long time before the coming of the indigo, and the researchers have examined the chemistry of the woad and its blue dye, while the history of the woad has drawn attention in the international historical and botanical press, and the study of the ancient dyes has been of continuing interest across the world. The plant has also been studied in the chemistry of natural products and the traditional use, since the leaves and the root of the woad have a long history of use in the traditional ways of the region, and the researchers have examined the plant and its constituents, while the traditional uses of the woad have drawn attention in the international pharmaceutical and botanical press, and the woad is best appreciated as a subject of study and of the tradition rather than a casual remedy. The species has also been studied in botany and ecology, since it is a native of the fields and the waysides, and its relationships and its place in the wild have been examined, while the bluish-green, clasping leaves of the woad have been of interest to the botanists. For a plant of such ancient value, the woad has a rich and distinguished record of research.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

To grow the Woad from seed, ecologically, the woad is a generous herb of the garden. Its broad, flat clusters of many small, bright-yellow flowers feed the bees and the insects, and its leafy growth gives a cover to the small creatures, while it is a handsome and historic presence in the herb garden and the border. Its economic value is real: the woad is prized for its long history as one of the oldest of the blue dye plants, and its leaves have yielded the fine blue dye of the ancient world, while its value has drawn attention in the international historical and botanical press, and the plant is also grown for its fine, bluish-green foliage and its bright-yellow flowers. To raise the woad, sow the seeds in pots of free-draining compost in spring, keep them lightly watered in a sunny spot, and grow the little herbs on in the light.

sow the seeds in pots of free-draining compost in spring, keep the young woad lightly watered in a sunny spot, and grow the little herbs on in the light.

LATIN NAME: Isatis tinctoria

COMMON NAME: Woad, Dyers Woad

Woad is a plant of extraordinary history, for it once dyed the cloth and painted the warriors of Europe. It grows as a robust biennial, forming a rosette of blue-green, lance-shaped leaves in its first year, then sending up a tall, branching flower stem in its second, topped by clouds of small, bright yellow flowers in late spring. The flowers are cheerful and the plant is handsome in its own right, but its fame lies in the leaves, which contain a blue dye that was used for centuries, from the blue tattoos of the ancient Britons to the blue cloth of medieval Europe, until indigo from the East largely replaced it. It is a plant that literally coloured a civilisation.

Woad belongs to the cabbage family, Brassicaceae, and it is native to the steppes of central and southern Europe and western Asia. It has been cultivated for its dye since ancient times, and it now grows wild across much of Europe, often on disturbed and chalky ground.

Positive & Encouraging Seed Germination Guide

Growing woad from seed is easy and fascinating. The seeds germinate readily in cool, light conditions, so sow them in spring on the surface of a tray of free-draining compost, press them in gently, and keep them bright and lightly moist. Germination usually begins within one to three weeks. Pot the seedlings on as they grow and plant them out in full sun and well-drained soil, preferably alkaline. In its first year it forms a rosette of blue-green leaves, which you can harvest for dyeing, and in its second year it flowers. Woad is tough, self-seeding and easy to grow, and raising it connects you to one of the most important plants in European history.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

Woad has a rich and fascinating record in both chemistry and history. The blue dye in its leaves, formed from a compound called indican, has been the subject of research by chemists interested in natural dyes, and scientists have studied the chemistry of how the blue colour develops during processing, including the role of enzymes in the leaves. In historical research, woad is one of the most important dye plants of European history, studied for its cultivation, its trade and its role in medieval economies, and there is renewed interest in growing it as a natural and sustainable dye source. The plant is also of ecological interest, since it has become an invasive weed in parts of western North America, where researchers study its spread and control. For a plant that dyed a civilisation, woad has a rich and varied record of research.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

Ecologically, woad is a valuable plant for sunny, dry places. Its bright yellow flowers feed bees and other pollinators in late spring, and it thrives in poor, chalky soil where many plants struggle.

Its economic value is real and historic. For centuries it was one of the most important dye plants in Europe, and today there is a revival of interest in woad as a natural, sustainable source of blue dye for textiles, with growers and artists using it again. The plant is also grown as an ornamental for its yellow flowers and its handsome blue-green foliage. For a grower, woad is a fascinating dye and garden plant, and for a gardener it brings a piece of living history and a cheerful cloud of yellow flowers.

Bitter in flavor, cold in nature, it is related to the heart, liver and stomach channels.

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:

Use it with honeysuckle flower (Flos Lonicerae), weeping forsythia fruit (Fructus Forsythiae), great burdock achene (Fructus Arctii), etc., e.g., Puji Xiaodu Yin.

Isatis root may have preventive and therapeutic functions on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) or atypical pneumonia.