The Medicinal Herb Info site was created to help educate visitors about the often forgotten wisdom of the old ways of treating illnesses. Many of today's drugs and medicines were originally derived from natural ingredients, combinations of plants and other items found in nature.

We are not suggesting that you ignore the help of trained medical professionals, simply that you have additional options available for treating illnesses. Often the most effective treatment involves a responsible blend of both modern and traditional treatments.

We wish you peace and health!

Dyer’s Broom

Scientific Names

Dyer's Broom

  • Genista tinctoria L.
  • Pea family

Common Names

  • Dyer’s greenweed
  • Dyer’s whin
  • Furze
  • Green broom
  • Greenweed
  • Waxen woad
  • Woad waxen
  • Wood waxen

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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.
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Where Found

Grows in dry uplands from Maine to Massachusetts and in eastern New York, also in meadows, pastures, and woods in Europe.
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Medicinal Properties

Aperient, diuretic, stimulant vasoconstrictor, purgative
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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.
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Uses

Dyer’s broom tea acts as a mild purgative and has been recommended for gravel and stones. It stimulates the central nervous system (compared to that of nicotine). Dyer’s broom raises blood pressure by constricting the blood vessels and should be avoided when hypertension is present. The tincture of extract is used externally for herpes or tetters.
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Formulas or Dosages

Infusion: steep 2 tsp. flowering twigs in 1/2 cup water. Take no more than 1 cup per day.
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Warning

Dyer’s broom raises blood pressure by constricting the blood vessels and should be avoided when hypertension is present.
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Bibliography

Buy It! The Herb Book, by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974.

Buy It! Webster’s New World Dictionary, Third College Edition, Victoria Neufeldt, Editor in Chief, New World Dictionaries: A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023

Buy It! 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. Emmaus, PA, 18049., 1974

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