What is "reseda luteola"

Luteolin \Lu"te*o*lin\, n. [From NL. Reseda luteola, fr. L. luteolus yellowish, fr. luteus: cf. F. lut['e]oline. See Luteous.] (Chem.) A yellow dyestuff obtained from the foliage of the dyer's broom ( Reseda luteola).

Luteic \Lu*te"ic\, a. (Chem.)

1. Pertaining to, or derived from, weld ( Reseda luteola).

2. Pertaining to, or designating, an acid resembling luteolin, but obtained from the flowers of Euphorbia cyparissias.

Weld \Weld\ (w[e^]ld), n. [OE. welde; akin to Scot. wald, Prov. G. waude, G. wau, Dan. & Sw. vau, D. wouw.]

1. (Bot.) An herb ( Reseda luteola) related to mignonette, growing in Europe, and to some extent in America; dyer's broom; dyer's rocket; dyer's weed; wild woad. It is used by dyers to give a yellow color. [Written also woald, wold, and would.]

2. Coloring matter or dye extracted from this plant.

Woad \Woad\, n. [OE. wod, AS. w[=a]d; akin to D. weede, G. waid, OHG. weit, Dan. vaid, veid, Sw. veide, L. vitrum.] [Written also wad, and wade.]

1. (Bot.) An herbaceous cruciferous plant ( Isatis tinctoria) of the family Cruciferae (syn. Brassicaceae). It was formerly cultivated for the blue coloring matter derived from its leaves. See isatin.

2. A blue dyestuff, or coloring matter, consisting of the powdered and fermented leaves of the Isatis tinctoria. It is now superseded by indigo, but is somewhat used with indigo as a ferment in dyeing.

   Their bodies . . . painted with woad in sundry figures.
   --Milton.

   Wild woad (Bot.), the weld ( Reseda luteola). See Weld.

   Woad mill, a mill grinding and preparing woad.

Broom \Broom\ (br[=oo]m), n. [OE. brom, brome, AS. br[=o]m; akin to LG. bram, D. brem, OHG. br[=a]mo broom, thorn?bush, G. brombeere blackberry. Cf. Bramble, n.]

1. (Bot.) A plant having twigs suitable for making brooms to sweep with when bound together; esp., the Cytisus scoparius of Western Europe, which is a low shrub with long, straight, green, angular branches, minute leaves, and large yellow flowers.

   No gypsy cowered o'er fires of furze and broom.
   --Wordsworth.

2. An implement for sweeping floors, etc., commonly made of the panicles or tops of broom corn, bound together or attached to a long wooden handle; -- so called because originally made of the twigs of the broom.

   Butcher's broom, a plant ( Ruscus aculeatus) of the Smilax family, used by butchers for brooms to sweep their blocks; -- called also knee holly. See Cladophyll.

   Dyer's broom, a species of mignonette ( Reseda luteola), used for dyeing yellow; dyer's weed; dyer's rocket.

   Spanish broom. See under Spanish.

Reseda luteola is a plant species in the genus Reseda. Common names include dyer's rocket, dyer's weed, weld, woold, and yellow weed. A native of Eurasia, the plant can be found in North America as an introduced species and common weed.

While other resedas were used for the purpose, this species was the most widely used source of the natural dye known as weld. The plant is rich in luteolin, a flavonoid which produces a bright yellow dye. The yellow could be mixed with the blue from woad (Isatis tinctoria) to produce greens such as Lincoln green. The dye was in use by the first millennium BC, and perhaps earlier than either woad or madder. Use of this dye came to an end at the beginning of the twentieth century, when cheaper synthetic yellow dyes came into use. France exported large quantities of weld.

It prefers waste places. Good weld for dye must have flowers of a yellow or greenish color, and abound in leaves; that which is small, thin-stemmed, and yellow is better than that which is large, thick-stemmed, and green; that which grows on dry, sandy soils is better than that produced on rich and moist soils. For the greatest production of coloring matter, the plant should be cut before the fruits show much development, otherwise the pigment diminishes. Dye from weld serves equally for linen, wool, and silk, dyeing with proper management all shades of yellow, and producing a bright and beautiful color.

Reseda is a primary dye for the wool tapestries at the Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Centre in Giza, Egypt. Each February, the reseda is harvested for the annual wool dying event among all the artists at the centre.

- Reseda leaves for Yellow.jpg|Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Centre annual wool dying with reseda Dyed with Reseda. (1).jpg|Wool dyed with reseda at Wissa Wassef Art Centre, Giza, Egypt, 2016

Resedinine is the name of an alkaloid that was extracted from this plant.