Isatis
(the old Greek name, used by Dioscorides). ORD. Cruciferae. This genus comprises from twenty-five to thirty species of erect, branched, annual or biennial herbs, spread over Southern Europe and Western Asia. Flowers often yellow, loosely racemose, ebracteate. Leaves entire, stem ones sagittate. The only species worthy of mention here is the one described below. Propagated by seeds sown in spring in almost any soil.
I. tinctoria (dyers'). Common Dyer's Woad. fl. yellow; panicles loose, erect, elongated. Spring. l., lower ones stalked, ovate; upper ones sessile, sagittate, all more or less glaucous. h. 2ft. to 4ft. Europe (Britain), North Asia. An interesting biennial plant. The ancient Britains stained themselves with it; later, the Saxons imported it. It is still cultivated in Lincolnshire. (Sy. En. B. 161.)