''Isatis'' is a genus of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the family

Brassicaceae Brassicaceae () or (the older but equally valid) Cruciferae () is a medium-sized and economically important Family (biology), family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. Most are herbaceous pla ...

, native to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

region east to

central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

. Its genus name, Isatis, derives from the ancient Greek word for the plant, ἰσάτις. The genus includes

woad ''Isatis tinctoria'', also called woad (), dyer's woad, dyer's-weed, or glastum, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae (the mustard family) with a documented history of use as a blue dye and medicinal plant. Its genus name, ''Isati ...

(''Isatis tinctoria''). Due to their extremely variable morphology, the Asian species in particular are difficult to determine; the only reliable diagnostic feature is the ripe fruit. They are (usually)

biennial Biennial means (an event) lasting for two years or occurring every two years. The related term biennium is used in reference to a period of two years. In particular, it can refer to: * Biennial plant, a plant which blooms in its second year and t ...

or perennial

herbaceous plant Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition o ...

s, often bluish and hairless or downy hairy with the upright stem branched.

Description

They are annual, biennial or perennial, branched herbs, usually

glabrous Glabrousness () is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes, or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of a plant or animal, or be due to loss because of a physical condition, ...

and

glaucous ''Glaucous'' (, ) is used to describe the pale grey or bluish-green appearance of the surfaces of some plants, as well as in the names of birds, such as the glaucous gull (''Larus hyperboreus''), glaucous-winged gull (''Larus glaucescens''), ...

except

silique A silique or siliqua (plural ''siliques'' or ''siliquae'') is a type of fruit (seed capsule) having two fused carpels with the length being more than three times the width. When the length is less than three times the width of the dried fruit ...

. Basal leaves generally elliptic-oblong, sessile; sessile caulinary, rounded to oval-oblong. The

hermaphrodite A hermaphrodite () is a sexually reproducing organism that produces both male and female gametes. Animal species in which individuals are either male or female are gonochoric, which is the opposite of hermaphroditic. The individuals of many ...

flowers are fourfold double

perianth The perianth (perigonium, perigon or perigone in monocots) is the non-reproductive part of the flower. It is a structure that forms an envelope surrounding the sexual organs, consisting of the calyx (sepals) and the corolla (petals) or tepal ...

. The four

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s are ascending to upright. The four yellow to

off-white Shades of white are colors that differ only slightly from pure white. Variations of white include what are commonly termed off-white colors, which may be considered part of a neutral color scheme. In color theory, a ''shade'' is a pure color mi ...

lilac ''Syringa'' is a genus of 12 currently recognized species of flowering woody plants in the olive family or Oleaceae called lilacs. These lilacs are native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and widely and commonly ...

-white petals are at least as long as the sepals. They have six

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s with very small, egg-shaped or elongated-round anthers. There are

nectar Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by Plant, plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to an ...

glands.

Racemose A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the shoo ...

is branched or paniculated, ebracted, inflorescence, often reaching lax and elongated in the fruit. The fruit is a generally linear silique, oblong-cuneate to suborbicular, indehiscent, flattened laterally, unilocular, little to conspicuously winged, glabrous or with tiny hairs.Flora of North America Editorial Committee, e. 2010. Magnoliophyta: Salicaceae to Brassicaceae. Fl. N. Amer. 7: i – xxii, 1–797.

Species

Currently accepted species include: *''

Isatis afghanica ''Isatis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Brassicaceae, native to the Mediterranean region east to central Asia. Its genus name, Isatis, derives from the ancient Greek word for the plant, ἰσάτις. The genus includes woad (''Is ...

'' Hadac & Chrtek *''

Isatis amani ''Isatis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Brassicaceae, native to the Mediterranean region east to central Asia. Its genus name, Isatis, derives from the ancient Greek word for the plant, ἰσάτις. The genus includes woad (''Is ...

'' P.H.Davis *''

Isatis apennina ''Isatis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Brassicaceae, native to the Mediterranean region east to central Asia. Its genus name, Isatis, derives from the ancient Greek word for the plant, ἰσάτις. The genus includes woad (''Is ...

'' Ten. ex Grande *''

Isatis apscheronica ''Isatis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Brassicaceae, native to the Mediterranean region east to central Asia. Its genus name, Isatis, derives from the ancient Greek word for the plant, ἰσάτις. The genus includes woad (''Is ...

'' N.Busch *''

Isatis aptera ''Isatis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Brassicaceae, native to the Mediterranean region east to central Asia. Its genus name, Isatis, derives from the ancient Greek word for the plant, ἰσάτις. The genus includes woad (''Is ...

'' (Boiss. & Heldr.) Al-Shehbaz, Moazzeni & Mumm. *''

Isatis arenaria ''Isatis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Brassicaceae, native to the Mediterranean region east to central Asia. Its genus name, Isatis, derives from the ancient Greek word for the plant, ἰσάτις. The genus includes woad (''Is ...

'' Azn. *''

Isatis armena ''Isatis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Brassicaceae, native to the Mediterranean region east to central Asia. Its genus name, Isatis, derives from the ancient Greek word for the plant, ἰσάτις. The genus includes woad (''Is ...

'' L. *''

Isatis arnoldiana ''Isatis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Brassicaceae, native to the Mediterranean region east to central Asia. Its genus name, Isatis, derives from the ancient Greek word for the plant, ἰσάτις. The genus includes woad (''Is ...

'' N.Busch *''

Isatis aucheri ''Isatis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Brassicaceae, native to the Mediterranean region east to central Asia. Its genus name, Isatis, derives from the ancient Greek word for the plant, ἰσάτις. The genus includes woad (''Is ...

'' Boiss. *''

Isatis biscutellifolia ''Isatis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Brassicaceae, native to the Mediterranean region east to central Asia. Its genus name, Isatis, derives from the ancient Greek word for the plant, ἰσάτις. The genus includes woad (''Is ...

'' Boiss. & Buhse *'' Isatis bitlisica'' P.H.Davis *'' Isatis boissieriana'' Rchb.f. *'' Isatis brachycarpa'' C.A.Mey. *'' Isatis brevipes'' (Bunge) Jafri *'' Isatis bullata'' Aitch. & Hemsl. *'' Isatis bungeana'' Seidlitz *'' Isatis buschiana'' Schischk. *'' Isatis callifera'' Boiss. & Balansa *'' Isatis campylocarpa'' Boiss. *''

Isatis canaliculata ''Isatis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Brassicaceae, native to the Mediterranean region east to central Asia. Its genus name, Isatis, derives from the ancient Greek word for the plant, ἰσάτις. The genus includes woad (''Is ...

'' (Vassilcz.) V.V.Botschantz. *'' Isatis candolleana'' Boiss. *'' Isatis cappadocica'' Desv. *'' Isatis cardiocarpa'' (Trautv.) Al-Shehbaz, Moazzeni & Mumm. *'' Isatis caucasica'' N.Busch *'' Isatis cochlearis'' Boiss. *'' Isatis constricta'' P.H.Davis *'' Isatis costata'' C.A.Mey. *'' Isatis davisiana'' H.Misirdali ex P.H.Davis, R.R.Mill & Kit Tan *'' Isatis demiriziana'' H.Misirdali ex P.H.Davis, R.R.Mill & Kit Tan *'' Isatis densiflora'' (Bunge ex Boiss.) D.A.German *'' Isatis deserti'' (N.Busch) V.V.Botschantz. *'' Isatis djurjaedae'' Coss. & Durieu *'' Isatis elegans'' (Boiss.) Hadac & Chrtek *'' Isatis emarginata'' Kar. & Kir. *'' Isatis erzurumica'' P.H.Davis *'' Isatis floribunda'' Boiss. ex Bornm. *'' Isatis frigida'' Boiss. & Kotschy *'' Isatis frutescens'' Kar. & Kir. *'' Isatis gaubae'' Bornm. *'' Isatis glastifolia'' (Fisch. & C.A.Mey.) Al-Shehbaz, Moazzeni & Mumm. *'' Isatis glauca'' Aucher ex Boiss. *'' Isatis grammotis'' Kit Tan *'' Isatis gymnocarpa'' (Fisch. ex DC.) Al-Shehbaz, Moazzeni & Mumm. *'' Isatis harsukhii'' O.E.Schulz *'' Isatis hirtocalyx'' Franch. *'' Isatis huber-morathii'' P.H.Davis *'' Isatis iberica'' Steven *'' Isatis jacutensis'' (N.Busch) N.Busch *'' Isatis karjaginii'' Schischk. *'' Isatis kotschyana'' Boiss. & Hohen. *'' Isatis kozlovskyi'' Grossh. *'' Isatis laevigata'' Trautv. *'' Isatis latisiliqua'' Steven *'' Isatis leuconeura'' Boiss. & Buhse *'' Isatis littoralis'' Steven *'' Isatis lockmanniana'' Kotschy ex Boiss. *'' Isatis lusitanica'' L. *'' Isatis mardinensis'' P.H.Davis & H.Misirdali *'' Isatis maxima'' Pavlov *'' Isatis microcarpa'' J.Gay ex Boiss. *'' Isatis minima'' Bunge *'' Isatis multicaulis'' (Kar. & Kir.) Jafri *'' Isatis oblongata'' DC. *'' Isatis odontogera'' (Bordz.) D.A.German *'' Isatis ornithorhynchus'' N.Busch *'' Isatis pachycarpa'' Rech.f., Aellen & Esfand. *'' Isatis pinnatiloba'' P.H.Davis *'' Isatis platyloba'' Link ex Steud. *'' Isatis praecox'' Kit. ex Tratt. *'' Isatis raimondoi'' Di Grist., Scafidi & Domina *'' Isatis raphanifolia'' Boiss. *'' Isatis rugulosa'' Bunge ex Boiss. *'' Isatis sabulosa'' Steven ex Ledeb. *'' Isatis sevangensis'' N.Busch *'' Isatis sivasica'' P.H.Davis *'' Isatis spatella'' P.H.Davis *'' Isatis spectabilis'' P.H.Davis *'' Isatis steveniana'' Trautv. *'' Isatis stocksii'' Boiss. *''

Isatis subdidyma ''Isatis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Brassicaceae, native to the Mediterranean region east to central Asia. Its genus name, Isatis, derives from the ancient Greek word for the plant, ἰσάτις. The genus includes woad (''Is ...

'' (N.Busch) V.E.Avet. *'' Isatis takhtajanii'' Avet. *''

Isatis tinctoria ''Isatis tinctoria'', also called woad (), dyer's woad, dyer's-weed, or glastum, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae (the mustard family) with a documented history of use as a blue dye and medicinal plant. Its genus name, ''Isati ...

'' L. *'' Isatis tomentella'' Boiss. & Balansa *'' Isatis trachycarpa'' Trautv. *'' Isatis turcomanica'' Korsh. *'' Isatis undulata'' Aucher ex Boiss. *'' Isatis violascens'' Bunge *'' Isatis zarrei'' Al-Shehbaz, Moazzeni & Mumm.

References

Brassicaceae Brassicaceae genera {{Brassicales-stub