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Indigofera (indigo-bearing). Leguminosae. Indigo. Shrubs and perennial herbs sometimes grown for ornament, and some species cultivated in various parts of the world for indigo.
Plants of differing habit, more or less silky-hairy: lvs. odd-pinnate (rarely digitate), or sometimes simple (1-foliolate): fls. usually small, in axillary racemes or spikes, in color ranging from purple to rose and white, papilionaceous; standard mostly roundish, often persisting for some time; keel with a spur or swelling on either side; stamens 10, monadelphpus, or 9 and 1: pod various, usually with thin partitions between the seeds.—The species are probably 300, in tropical regions of the world, and extending to the Cape region of S. Afr. Several species are native to the U. S.
Indigo is mostly the product of I. tinctoria, of Asia, but it is also made from the West Indian species, I. anil. These species were early introduced into the southern states for indigo-making, and the product was once manufactured to a considerable extent. The plant was introduced into South Carolina in 1742 from the West Indies. When it was found that commercial indigo could be produced, the British Government offered a bounty. In 1775, the production was more than one million pounds of indigo. The war for independence checked the industry, and thereafter the rising importance of the cotton crop, amongst other things, drove it to the wall. But as late as the middle of the last century, indigo continued to be made in remote places. Plants still persist in some places as escapes from cultivation. I. tinctoria is perennial, but is grown from seeds, which give from two to four cuttings of herbage the first year. The indigo is not contained in the plant, but the dye is a product of manufacture from a glucoside indican which is contained in the herbage, and which is obtained as an extract. Indigo seed is offered by seedsmen. Other species, even of other genera, also yield indigo. Very much of the indigo of commerce is now manufactured synthetically from coal-tar.
In North America, several species of Indigofera are occasionally grown as ornamental subjects. In the North, they are mostly greenhouse subjects. Propagated by seeds or cuttings, chiefly the latter. Recent introductions are I. amblyantha and I. kirilovwii, excellent species and hardy at the Arnold Arboretum.
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