Indigofera tinctoria L.

Formerly cultivated throughout the tropics for Indigo.

Shrub, 60-120 cm tall, branches pubescent, hairs appressed. Leaves 1.2-12.5 cm long; leaflets 7-13, c. 5-26 mm long, elliptic or oblong, glabrous to subglabrous above, appressly pubescent below; petiolule c. 1 mm long; stipules small. Inflorescence a subsessile raceme, c. 5-12 cm long. Calyx c. 1-1.5 mm long, pubescent, teeth as long as the tube. Corolla pink. Vexillum c. 4-4.5 mm long. Fruit 1.8-3.8 cm long, c. 2.5 mm broad, straight or slightly curved, glabrous, 10-12-seeded.

Distribution: Pakistan (Punjab, Sind); India; Ceylon; Burma; Indonesia; Philippines; Siam; Indo China; Malaya; Tropical Africa; introduced in Tropical America.

Fl. Per.: November-December.

Indigofera tinctoria L Sp. PI. 751. 1753
Indigofera tinctoria macrocarpa DC. Prodr. 2: 224, in part. 1825. Anila tinctoria normalis Kuntze, Rev. Gen. 160. 1891.
A shrub, 1-2 m. high; branches terete or slightly angled, more or less strigose; stipules subulate-setaceous, 2-3 mm. long; leaves 5-10 cm. long, spreading; leaflets 9-15, distinctly petioluled, obovate or oval, rounded and mucronate at the apex, obtuse or acute at the base, 1-2.5 cm. long, 6-15 mm. wide, usually glabrous above, strigose beneath; racemes 3-7 cm. long, usually shorter than the leaves; calyx 1.5 m. long; corolla reddish-yellow, 5-6 mm. long; wings spatulate; pod linear-cylindric, usually 3-3.5 cm. long, 2 mm. broad, slightly curved towards the apex, 8-12-seeded; seeds 2 mm. long, 1.5 mm. thick.
Tvpe locality: India.
Distribution: Subtropical Florida; West Indies; escaped from cultivation and naturalized; native of southern India.

Indigofera sumatrana Gaertn. Fruct 2:317 1791
Indigofera indica Lam. Encyc. 3: 245. 1789. Not /. indica Mill. 1768.
Indigofera tinctoria I.unan, Hort. Jam. 1: 419. 1814.
Indigofera tinctoria macrocarpa DC. Prodr. 2: 224, in part. 1825.
A shrub, 1-2 m. high; branches somewhat angled, strigose; stipules subulate, 2 mm. long; leaves 5-8 cm. long, spreading; leaflets 7-11, distinctly petioluled, obovate, rounded and mucronate at the apex, cuneate or acute at the base, 1-2.5 cm. long, strigose on both sides; racemes 3-8 cm. long; calyx 1.5 mm. long, strigose; corolla reddish-orange, 5 mm. long; pod 3-4 cm. long, 3 mm. wide, sickle-shaped, abruptly acute, S-12-seeded; seeds 2 mm. long, 1.5 mm. thick.
Type locality: (Not given, but by inference) Sumatra.
Distribution: Jamaica to Virgin Islands and St. Kitts; also in Venezuela; cultivated and naturalized; native from northern India to Formosa and the Dutch East Indies.

Perennial, Shrubs, Herbs, Taproot present, Nodules present, Stems erect or ascending, Ste ms less than 1 m tall, Stems 1-2 m tall, Stems solid, Stems or young twigs sparsely to densely hairy, Stems silvery, canescent, tomentose, cobwebby, or wooly, Stems with 2-branched hairs, dolabriform, Leaves alternate, Leaves petiolate, Stipules inconspicuous, absent, or caducous, Stipules setiform, subulate or acicular, Stipules persistent, Stipules free, Leaves compound, Leaves odd pinnate, Leaf or leaflet margins entire, Leaflets opposite, Leaflets 5-9, Leaflets 10-many, Leaves glabrous or nearly so, Leaves hairy on one or both surfaces, Inflorescences racemes, Inflorescences spikes or spike-like, Inflorescence axillary, Bracts very small, absent or caducous, Flowers zygomorphic, Calyx 5-lobed, Calyx glabrous, Petals separate, Corolla papilionaceous, Petals clawed, Petals pinkish to rose, Petals red, Petals orange or yellow, Banner petal ovoid or obovate, Wing petals narrow, oblanceolate to oblong, Wing petals auriculate, Wing tips obtuse or rounded, Keel petals auriculat e, spurred, or gibbous, Keel abruptly curved, or spirally coiled, Keel tips obtuse or rounded, not beaked, Stamens 9-10, Stamens diadelphous, 9 united, 1 free, Filaments glabrous, Style terete, Fruit a legume, Fruit unilocular, Fruit freely dehiscent, Fruit elongate, straight, Fruit oblong or ellipsoidal, Fruit coriaceous or becoming woody, Fruit exserted from calyx, Fruit inflated or turgid, Fruit internally septate between the seeds, Fruit compressed between seeds, Fruit torulose or moniliform, strongly constricted between seeds, Fruit glabrous or glabrate, Fruit hairy, Fruit 3-10 seeded, Fruit 11-many seeded, Seeds ovoid to rounded in outline, Seed surface smooth, Seeds olive, brown, or black.

Indigofera tinctoria, also called true indigo, is a species of plant from the bean family that was one of the original sources of indigo dye.