Dyer’s Broom
Description of Plant(s) and Culture
Dyer’s broom is a perennial herbaceous shrub; grows 1-2 feet high, the stems are woody, slightly hairy, and branched. The alternate, nearly sessile leaves are glabrous and lanceolate. Golden-yellow flowers grow in narrow panicles from June to August. The fruit is a long, shiny pod shaped like a green-bean pod.
Where Found
Grows in dry uplands from Maine to Massachusetts and in eastern New York, also in meadows, pastures, and woods in Europe.
Medicinal Properties
Aperient, diuretic, stimulant vasoconstrictor, purgative
Legends, Myths and Stories
Woadwaxen was used by the ancient Britons for yellow dye. There is another plant called Woad (Isatis tinctoria) of the cruciferae genus is also a dye plant. Woad is cultivated in Britain for the blue dye from the leaves.
Uses
Historical herbalists prepared dyer's broom as a tea, which they used as a mild purgative and recommended for gravel and urinary stones. Traditional accounts noted that the plant stimulated the central nervous system in a manner compared to nicotine, and it was understood to raise blood pressure through the constriction of blood vessels. Additionally, practitioners applied tinctures or extracts of dyer's broom externally to address skin conditions such as tetters.
Warning
Dyer’s broom raises blood pressure by constricting the blood vessels and should be avoided when hypertension is present.
Bibliography
The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974. , 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023 The Rodale Herb Book: How to Use, Grow, and Buy Nature’s Miracle Plants (An Organic gardening and farming book) , edited by William H. Hylton, Rodale Press, Inc. , 1974