The Woad Plant In and Out of the Garden

For Beautiful Summer Blooms and Blue Dye

Feb 16, 2009

Woad has captured popular imagination as producing the blue dye for body paint used by the Celts. Learn the history and modern uses of this yellow-flowered garden beauty.

The woad plant has a fresh wildflower appearance that brightens any garden. It has become known as the origin of the blue dye used in ancient Celtic body art and coloring textiles. However, woad has a long complex history.

Botanical Information and Plant Properties

The plant is native to Europe and Asia. Its botanical name is Isatis tinctoria and belongs to a genus of close to 30 species. It is either biennial or perennial and grows in branches of small leaves and yellow flowers in the summertime with black seeds resembling pods.

Woad's medicinal uses have been known as far back as the late 1500s in traditional Chinese medicine. It is an astringent plant known for reducing fever and inflammation and is reported to have antiviral properties. The parts of the plant used in natural medicine are the leaves, roots, and pigment.

Woad Plant and Dye in History

Films such as Braveheart starring Mel Gibson popularized the concept of woad being used in Celtic body art. Julius Caesar, in the Conquest of Gaul, used the Latin word vitro in reference to the paint the Celts and Picts used which past scholars believed to mean woad. However, this translation is debated and possibly means a blue-colored glass. Other suggested origins of this blue color mentioned by Caesar for the body paint are iron and copper pigments, the latter however being very toxic.

Woad was long used as a dye plant for its blue color in textiles. It became a subject in the Indigo Wars when the plant indigo began to be imported from the tropics. Woad growers fought to retain their status as leaders of the production of blue dye pigment. Indigo won the war however replacing woad because the process of producing dye was less expensive from indigo than from woad.

Growing and Harvesting Woad

Woad grows best in zones 3 through 8. It's best not to grow it in the same ground for more than a couple of years. It thrives in well-drained soil and can be planted by seed in the spring or autumn.

Home growers still use woad leaves to extract pigment for dying fabrics and for medicinal purposes. If planted in the spring, harvest the leaves between July and September. If planted in the autumn, harvest them between June and August.

Regardless of its history, woad is still being used for blue dye and to add a splash of yellow to a dull corner in the garden.

The copyright of the article The Woad Plant In and Out of the Garden in Plants & Bulbs is owned by Patricia Deneen. Permission to republish The Woad Plant In and Out of the Garden in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.