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Isatis tinctoria, page 1 of 2 | |
Common Names: Woad | |
Geographical Distribution: Central and South Europe, South and Central England, South East Russia. | |
Habitat: Woad is often found on cliffs and in chalky fields. The plant grows well in sandy and loamy or other well-drained soils and prefers sunny places. It prefers neutral to alkaline conditions but will also grow in acidic soils. As plants selectively deplete the soil of nutrients the same crop should not be grown on the same site for more than two years. Plants self-sow freely when they are grown in a suitable position are sometimes regarded as a pest plant. | |
Description: Woad is a hardy Biennial/Perennial growing up to 100cm by 45cm in height. It flowers in the second year from June to August with bright yellow flowers and is pollinated by insects. It successfully establishes and propagates when grown in a suitable position and is sometimes regarded as a weed. In the US, woad is listed as a noxious/invasive weed for: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. A blue dye, chemically identical to indigo, is obtained from the leaves of this plant. Medicinal uses: Antibacterial, Antiviral, Astringent. | |
The Cruciferae genus, to which woad belongs, consists of about thirty species, most of which produce indigo. Brassicas (cabbage) belong to the same family and share many characteristics with the Cruciferae. Indeed, young woad plants resemble small cabbages. | |
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Woad Flower | |
Notes on Use: Woad is a historically important dye plant, used as a body paint by the ancient Britons. Archaeological seed evidence from the cave of l'Audoste, Bouches du Rhone in France shows that woad use spread quickly throughout Europe in the Neolithic period. Julius Caesar mentions that the British used a blue stain, most likely derived from woad. Pliny writes: '...women and girls colouring themselves with it went naked to some of their sacrifices...'. The way the Ancients prepared the blue dye remains unknown. | |
The fascination these references elicit is widespread and people often strive to recreate the blue stained warrior of a past age. Although modern indigo products can be used in a limited way to recapture the spirit of woading no successful protocol for the use of true woad for body art exists today. Large scale blue body art is recreated using body paints as you can see on the warriors pictured below. | |
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Copyright. Steve Breckenridge 2005 | |
The photographs show the " Last Regiment". They were the last of the Picts written of as the right wing of the army of David I of Scotland, at the Battle of Standard. The Battle of Standard took place at Northallerton, Northumbria, in England on August 22nd, 1138 AD. The war was lost, and thus disappeared forever till an old man long in love with his family's Scottish history and being the sole survivor of that family 're-created' The Last Regiment for his 50th birthday party in 2000. They were such a hit that the 25 gathered three more times in 2002, 2004 and finally in 2005 for their last performance... and so slip into obscurity for another 800 years. | |
Woad was formerly cultivated for dye throughout Europe. Primary centres of dye production were located in Britain, France, Germany and Italy. The wealth generated in the trading centres is apparent to this day. In one example, the woad-traders sponsored the foundation of the University Erfurt in Germany. Woad was the only source of indigo in Europe until the 17th century. When tropical indigo flooded the European dye market, woad could not compete in quality or quantity and the industry went into decline. | |
By the end of the 17th century commercial cultivation of woad as a dye crop had ended. Woad was still grown but only to be used as an aid to fermentation in the dye vat. In 1932 cultivation finally ceased in Britain after the last processing of a woad crop was carried out in Lincolnshire. France was the last European country to cease commercial dye production from woad. | |
While woad dye is no longer manufactured on commercial bases, in recent years a range of colouring and wood preserving materials has been developed in one of the former woad-growing areas of Germany. Small-scale agricultural production has started, involving mechanical gathering of the leaves. The leaves are harvested when fully grown and 3 to 4 harvests can be taken from each crop. European Community research into sustainable agriculture suggests that woad has considerably more potential for indigo extraction than previously believed. In fact it has been possible to demonstrate that with efficient processing over the course of a growing season the indigo yield from woad is directly comparable to that from Indigofera. | |
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