Indigo
Indigo, also known as
Indigofera tinctoria and
True Indigo, is originally from Pakistan.
Indigo has now been naturalized to tropical and temperate Asia, as well as parts of Africa, but its native habitat is unknown since it has been in cultivation worldwide for many centuries.
Indigo's leaves contain indocan which must be fermented or steeped 12-48 hours to produce the beautiful blue dye that it's known for. The leaves are used to deepen the blackness of hair in India. The association of India with
indigo can be seen in the Greek word for the dye, indikon, meaning 'blue dye from India' or more literally 'Indian substance'. The Romans used the term indicum, which passed eventually into English as the word
indigo. This now forms the basis of the name of a whole genus of plants!
The Romans used
indigo as a pigment for painting, for medicinal and cosmetic purposes. It was a luxury, however, being imported from India to the Mediterranean by Arab merchants.
In England, the use of imported
indigo was prohibited by law from 1558 to 1685 and in France and Germany importation of indigo was outlawed in 1598.
The Chinese use
Indigo roots and leaves to treat swollen glands, heat rash and depression.
Indigo has also been used as an analgesic, an antipyretic, and an anti-inflammatory, for purifying the liver, to treat hemorrhoids and scorpion bites and as an emetic.
The worldwide cultivation of
indigo went into decline with the advent of synthetic 'anilline' dyes and further sharp decline in 1897 when synthetic indigo reached the market.
The preparation of
natural indigo is carried out as follows: the plant is cut down, steeped in vats for about 12 hours, and the extract, which is of a greenish color, is separated and run into fresh vats. Then it is stirred vigorously so as to bring it into contact with atmospheric oxygen. Insoluble indigo is precipitated as a blue mud, which is collected, pressed, dried, and cut into cubes.
Also available:
Grecian Foxglove Flower Seeds
Milk Thistle Seeds
Adonis Flower Seeds
