Additional notes (click to expand)
Medicinal
Narcotic.
Other use
Reseda lutea L. Resedaceae Wild Mignonette. Dyers Rocket. Herbaceous plant. Distribution: Eurasia and North Africa. This plant, and in particular R. luteola, is the source of 'weld' a yellow dye from luteolin a flavonoid in the sap. It is said to have been used since the first millennium BC, but curiously Dioscorides, Lyte, Gerard, Lobel, Fuchs, Coles, Quincy, Linnaeus (1782) either do not mention it or make it synonymous with Eruca, Rocket, and make no reference to it as a dye source. The name Resedo means 'I sit up' in Latin, which Stearn (1994) interprets as 'I heal' which makes its absence even more strange. It is noted as the dye source by Bentley (1861).
Oakeley, Dr. Henry F. (2013). Wellcome Library notes.
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Geographical distribution
- Africa, Macaronesia, Canary Is.
- Africa, Macaronesia, Madeira
- Africa, Northern Africa, Algeria
- Africa, Northern Africa, Egypt
- Africa, Northern Africa, Libya
- Africa, Northern Africa, Morocco
- Africa, Northern Africa, Tunisia
- Asia-Temperate
- Europe
Reseda lutea L.
Family: RESEDACEAEGenus: Reseda
Species: lutea L.
Common names: Wild Mignonette; Italian Rocket
Distribution summary: N.Africa to W.Russia
Habit: Annual
Hardiness: H4 - Hardy; average winter
Habitat: Scrub and waste land
Garden status: Not currently grown
Flowering months: June, July, August
Reason for growing: Other use
