Isatis tinctorial

Woad

Family: Cruciferae

Woad plants still grow in some parts of Britain and northern Europe as relics of their former cultivation; their true home is in southern Europe and western Asia. A biennial plant, it grows a rosette of long broad leaves during the first year and produces panicles of small yellow flowers the following midsummer. The flowering stems grow at least 1.5m / 5ft high. Later, dark fruits appear that dangle like earrings.

Sow seed in the spring on rich, well-drained ground in a sunny position and plant the seedlings 1m / 3ft apart. It flourishes in most climates and will readily self-seed.

Pick the leaves for dyeing during the midsummer of the first year. The leaves are astringent and styptic and were used as a wound herb. The Ancient Britons must have taken this into account when dyeing their bodies with woad. The process of dyeing cloth was complex, involving repeated, smelly, fermentations.