Woad

Isatis L.

Woad is a plant known for its brilliant blue dye. People have used it for coloring fabrics for a long time. The leaves of the woad plant are harvested to create the dye.

Hábitat: Grasslands

Aspecto

The Woad is a tall, erect plant with distinct bluish-green leaves. Its small, four-petaled flowers are a vibrant bright yellow, growing in dense clusters at the top of its stems, creating a striking contrast against its foliage.

ReinoPlantaeFiloTracheophytaClaseMagnoliopsidaOrdenBrassicalesFamiliaBrassicaceaeGéneroIsatis

Woad

Categoría

Plantas

Rareza

Rare

Peligro

2/5 · Bajo

Snaps

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Datos interesantes

Before indigo, woad was Europe's main source for blue dye, coloring royal clothing!

Making woad dye involves a stinky fermentation process, like brewing a potent, bubbly tea!

Woad seeds can stay alive in the soil for years, waiting for the perfect moment to sprout!

Woad was so valuable that special 'woad mills' processed its leaves into blue dye!

Habilidades especiales

Woad can create a vibrant blue pigment that helps humans color textiles and inks for centuries.

Woad can thrive in disturbed soils and roadside edges, helping it colonize new, open areas effectively.

Woad has compounds used in traditional medicine, helping people treat various ailments and infections.

Medidas y detalles

Altura: 30-150 cm
Extensión: 30-60 cm
Tamaño de la flor: 0.3-0.5 cm
Temporada de floración: Late spring to early summer
Comestible: Sí
Toxicidad: Leve
Ciclo de vida: Bienal
Método de polinización: Insectos

Conexiones ecológicas

pollinates

Honey bee

Apis mellifera

Visits its bright yellow flowers for nectar.

eaten by

Small white butterfly

Pieris rapae

Its caterpillars feed on the plant's leaves.

eaten by

Diamondback moth

Plutella xylostella

Larvae are a common pest of woad.

Rasgos

Bienal

Las plantas bienales completan su ciclo de vida en dos temporadas de crecimiento, formando típicamente follaje en el primer año y floreciendo o semillando en el segundo.