Polwhele.— Durham ; On the banks of Wear, between Framwell Gate and 
the New Bridge, where it was noticed by Mr. S. Robson: N. J. Winch, Esq. 
On the Ballast Hills of Tyne and Wear: N. J. Winch, Esq. — Kent; By the 
church at Long Reach : Dr. Mautyn. Woolwich, near the church : FI. Metr, 
— Norfolk ; In a field at Barton Bendish, where it is never known to have been 
cultivated : Rev. R. Forby. — Northumberland ; Cultivated in the fields near 
Newburn. — On the Ballast Hills of Tyne: N. J. Winch, Esq.— In Suffolk 
N. J. Winch, Esq. in N. B. G. — Surrey; Stone-pits near Guildford, abun- 
dantly: Mr. VV. Pamplin, sen. — Worcestersh. On a marl cliff, close to the 
Severn, MitheToot Hill, Tewkesbury, where the Severn divides Worcestershire 
and Gloucestershire: Mr. E. Lies, in N. B. G. — Yorkshire; Leeds: Mt-. 
DiNNY.ibid. — IRELAND. Fields near Woodlands, county of Dublin : Mr. 
J. T. Mackay. 
Biennial. — Flowers in June and July. 
Root tapering, fibrous. Stem upright, from 2 to 3 feet high, 
round, smooth, slightly glaucous, leafy, panicled at top. Radical 
leaves numerous, petiolated, somewhat inversely egg-shaped, taper- 
ing at the base, crenate, smooth, or sometimes, as in the specimen 
figured, slightly hairy ; stem leaves alternate, sessile, smooth, clasp- 
ing the stem by their arrow-shaped base, usually entire, but some- 
times very finely toothed. Panicle of many compound, racemose 
branches, beset with small, spear-shaped leaves, resembling brac- 
teas, all of a yellowish hue, as are the stalks also. Flowers numer- 
ous, small. Calyx of a greenish yellow. Corolla bright yellow. 
Pouchs (fig. 7.) on slender capillary stalks, pendulous, oblong, 
wedge-shaped, blunt, about half an inch long, and two lines wide, 
compressed at the summit and on the sides into a sharp edge, con- 
vex in the middle, smooth, and when ripe of a dark chesnut or 
blackish colour, a little shining, of 1 cell, and 2 valves ; valves 
(fig. 8.) of a spongy substance, boat-shaped, scarcely opening spon- 
taneously. Seed (fig. 9.) smooth, slightly striated, of a brownish- 
yellow colour when ripe. Cotyledons (fig. 10.) egg-shaped, fleshy, 
a little convex. Radicle nearly cylindrical, lying on the back of 
one of the cotyledons (incumbent o || ) . 
This species was formerly called glastum, from the Celtic glas, blue, whence 
Glastonbury derived its name. The ancient Britons are reported to have painted 
their bodies with the blue colour obtained fiom this plant, whence they received 
their appellation Britho, being the Celtic word for to paint ; henc e Britons.. 
From this circumstance it appears probable that the woad may be an original 
production of our island ; though what occurs now and then, about cultivated 
fields, is supposed to have escaped from the crops occasionally raised, chiefly in 
the middle pait of England. It is a native of south and middle Europe in dry 
stony places, from Spain and Sicily to the shores of the Baltic sea; also, but 
probably introduced, in the Canary Islands and Eastern Asia, in cultivated 
land. It is in occasional cultivation for its leaves, from which a dye, as a sub- 
stitute for Indigo, is obtained. “ It thrives best on sandy and gravelly soils, 
which must be well pulverised, manured, and formed into beds, as in the case 
of madder culture. The seeds are sown in March or April, in rows, or broad- 
cast, and harrowed or covered with a rake. All weeds are cleared away and 
the plants thinned, if a careful culture is followed. The leaves are the part of 
the plant used by the indigo manufacturer. They should be gathered singly, 
like those of spinach, as soon as they begin to show signs of maturity, and the 
mature leaves taken oft from time to time as they grow. This operation goes on 
from June to September in the first year, and from June to August in the se- 
cond ; when the plant, being a biennial, shoots into flower-stems.” Loudon's 
Encyclop. of Agri. p. 81. The leaves are pressed, and the juice treated as in 
making Indigo * ; but such is the cheapness of the latter article, that no British 
farmer can afford to raise any sort of substitute. Don’s Gen. Syst. of Gard, 
and Bot. ; Smith's Eng. FI., &c. 
* For an account of the manner of making Indigo, see Professor Burnett’s 
excellent work, the Outlines of Botany, v. ii. p. 651. 
