Indigo
Parts Usually Used
Bark of the root and the leaves
Description of Plant(s) and Culture
The wild indigo is of several species of closely related genus. Wild indigo has blackish and woody roots, a perennial plant, sends up a stem which is very much branched, round, smooth and from 2-3 feet high. The leaves are rounded at the extremity, small, clover-like and alternate. The bright yellow, pea-like, flowers appear in July and August. The fruit is a bluish-black color in the form of an oblong pod.
Any portion of the plant, when dried, yields a blue dye which is not equal in value to indigo. Other varieties: Cream wild indigo (B. leucophaea) and blue false indigo (B. australis).
Where Found
Found in the southern and eastern states of the United States and Canada. Dry soil.
Medicinal Properties
Antiseptic, stimulant, purgative, emmenagogue
Biochemical Information
The seed pod contains indigo, tannin, acid and baptisia
Legends, Myths and Stories
In India and Pakistan, some of the local names are Guli, Nil-Nilika; common and Indian Indigo. The vegetable dye known to have been in use the longest is indigo. An indigo-dyed garment dating from about 3000 BC was found in the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes; and references to blue in the biblical book of Exodus (25:4 and 35:25) undoubtedly mean also that indigo was used, although by this times purple and red had joined the company.
Indigo dye happens to be naturally resistant to fading, but most vegetables dyes are “fugitive” and need added treatment to become color-fast.
Uses
Historically, herbalists noted that the shoots induced strong purgation if gathered after turning green. A decoction of the tips boiled with the chopped twigs of Utah Juniper (*Juniperus osteosperma*) was utilized in folk tradition as a remedy for kidney complaints. Practitioners also administered the plant for digestive complaints such as mucous colitis, as well as for muscular soreness, rheumatic and arthritic aches, chest constriction, chills, fever, hemorrhoids, and intestinal parasites.
Externally, folk traditions made use of a leaf poultice or a paste of the plant mixed with warm water for burns, scalds, wounds, boils, and bites from insects or animals.
Warning
Do not exceed the stated dose; high doses may cause vomiting.
Bibliography
The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974. American Folk Medicine , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1973 Chinese Medicinal Herbs , compiled by Shih-Chen Li, Georgetown Press, San Francisco, California, 1973. Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants , by Steven Foster and James A. , Pantheon Books, Knopf Publishing Group, New York, 1994, first edition The Complete Medicinal Herbal , by Penelope Ody, Dorling Kindersley, Inc, 232 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, First American Edition, copyright 1993 Indian Herbalogy of North America , by Alma R.
, Horticultural Hall, 300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, 1973 The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine , by Dr. David Frawley & Dr. Vasant Lad, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, Second edition, 1988. , 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023 An Instant Guide to Medicinal Plants , by Pamela Forey and Ruth Lindsay, Crescent Books (January 27, 1992).
The Rodale Herb Book: How to Use, Grow, and Buy Nature’s Miracle Plants (An Organic gardening and farming book) , edited by William H. Hylton, Rodale Press, Inc. , 1974