Woad, Isatan, Dyer's woad, Guado
Isatis tinctoria

Family: Brassicaceae

What it is like

A cabbage family herb up to about 1 m tall. It can spread 30-60 cm wide. The stems are branching. The leaves are sword shaped. The flowers are in panicles at the ends of branches. They are small and yellow and have 4 petals. The fruit are flat seed pods. They are shiny and purple-black when mature.

It is used in medicine

Where it is found

It is a temperate plant. It grows in fields, pastures, roadsides, waste places between 600–2800 m altitude in China. It suits hardiness zones 6-8. Hobart Botanical Gardens. In Sichuan and Yunnan.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, Australia, Britain, Caucasus, Central Asia, China, Europe, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Greece, India, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mediterranean, Middle East, Mongolia, Pakistan, Russia, Scandinavia, Sicily, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Tasmania, Tibet, Turkey, Türkiye, Uzbekistan, SW Asia, naturalised elsewhere

How it is used for food

The flowers are cooked.

Edible parts

Leaves, flowers

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Guadu, Silina

Synonyms

Isatis indigotica Fortune; Isatis oblongata de Candolle var. yezoensis (Ohwi) Y. L. Chang; Isatis tinctoria subsp. canescens Malag.; Isatis tinctoria var. indigotica (Fortune) T. Y. Cheo & K. C. Kuan; Isatis tinctoria var. yezoensis (Ohwi) Ohwi; Isatis yezoensis Ohwi, and others