Taxon: Indigofera tinctoria L.

Summary

Genus:

Indigofera

Family:

Fabaceae (alt. Leguminosae)

Subfamily:

Faboideae

Tribe:

Indigofereae

Nomen number:

20064

Place of publication:

Sp. pl. 2:751. 1753

Typification:

View in Linnean Typification Project

Verified:

09/17/2004 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

27 (10 active, 8 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Indigofera tinctoria L. var. arcuata J. B. Gillett (0 active accession[s])
Indigofera tinctoria L. var. tinctoria (0 active accession[s])

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Indigofera argentea L.
Indigofera sumatrana Gaertn.

Images (2 total. Click on image for more.)

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
Arechavaleta, M. et al., eds. 2005. Lista preliminar de especies silvestres de Cabo Verde: hongos, plantas y animales terrestres
Aubréville, A. et al., eds. 1960-. Flore du Cambodge du Laos et du Viet-Nam.
Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
Duke, J. A. 1981. Handbook of legumes of world economic importance
Encke, F. et al. 1984. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 13. Auflage
Erhardt, W. et al. 2008. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen 1479.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
Hnatiuk, R. J. 1990. Census of Australian vascular plants. Australian Flora and Fauna Series No. 11.
Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
Huang, S. F. & T. C. Huang. 1987. Taxonomic treatment of the Papilionoideae (Leguminosae) of Taiwan. Taiwania 32:11-117.
Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
Kort, I. de & G. Thijsse. 1984. A revision of the genus Indigofera (Leguminosae-Papilionoideae) in Southeast Asia. Blumea 30:89-151. Note: pages 136-139 treats two subspecies
Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
Lemmens, R. H. M. J. & N. Wulijarni-Soetjipto, eds. 1991. Dye and tannin-producing plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 3:81-83.
Lock, J. M. & J. Heald. 1994. Legumes of Indochina: a checklist
Lock, J. M. & K. Simpson. 1991. Legumes of West Asia: a checklist
Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan.
Personal Care Products Council. International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient
Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
Sanjappa, M. 1995. Leguminosae - Papilionoideae tribe Indigoferae. In: Botanical Survey of India, Fascicles of flora of India. 21:133-137.
Thulin, M., ed. 1993-. Flora of Somalia.
Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
Verdcourt, B. 1979. A manual of New Guinea legumes.
Wood, J. R. I. 1997. A handbook of the Yemen flora.

Common names

Language	Name	seq	Citation
English	dye indigo	1	Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
English	Indian indigo	1	Duke, J. A. 1981. Handbook of legumes of world economic importance
English	indigo	1	Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. 1999. World economic plants: a standard reference CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
German	Indigostrauch	2	Erhardt, W. et al. 2008. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen 1479.
Japanese Rōmaji	nanban-ai	2	Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
Swedish	indigo	2	Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Kenya			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Tanzania			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Uganda			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	Macaronesia	Cabo Verde			Arechavaleta, M. et al., eds. 2005. Lista preliminar de especies silvestres de Cabo Verde: hongos, plantas y animales terrestres
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Chad			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Ethiopia			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Somalia			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Sudan			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Yemen	Arkhabīl Suquţrá		Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Angola			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Malawi			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Mozambique			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zambia			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zimbabwe			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	Botswana			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Benin			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Côte D'Ivoire			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Gambia			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Ghana			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Guinea			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Guinea-Bissau			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Mali			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Niger			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Nigeria			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Senegal			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Togo			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Cameroon			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Central African Republic			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Gabon			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Sao Tome and Principe			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	Western Indian Ocean	Madagascar			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Arabian Peninsula	Yemen			Wood, J. R. I. 1997. A handbook of the Yemen flora.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Anhui Sheng		Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Hainan Sheng		Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Taiwan
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Bangladesh			Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Andhra Pradesh		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Arunachal Pradesh		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Assam		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Bihar		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Dadra and Nagar Haveli		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Daman and Diu		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Delhi		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Goa		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Gujarat		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Haryana		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Himachal Pradesh		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Jammu and Kashmir		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Karnataka		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Kerala		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Madhya Pradesh		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Maharashtra		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Manipur		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Meghalaya		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Mizoram		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Nagaland		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Odisha		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Puducherry		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Punjab		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Rajasthan		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Sikkim		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Tamil Nadu		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Tripura		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Uttar Pradesh		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	West Bengal		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Maldives
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Pakistan			Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Sri Lanka			Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Cambodia			Lock, J. M. & J. Heald. 1994. Legumes of Indochina: a checklist
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Myanmar			Lock, J. M. & J. Heald. 1994. Legumes of Indochina: a checklist
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Thailand			Lock, J. M. & J. Heald. 1994. Legumes of Indochina: a checklist
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Vietnam			Lock, J. M. & J. Heald. 1994. Legumes of Indochina: a checklist
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Indonesia
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Malaysia
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Papuasia	Papua New Guinea
1	Native	Australasia	Australia	Australia	Northern Territory		Hnatiuk, R. J. 1990. Census of Australian vascular plants. Australian Flora and Fauna Series No. 11.
1	Native	Australasia	Australia	Australia	Queensland		Hnatiuk, R. J. 1990. Census of Australian vascular plants. Australian Flora and Fauna Series No. 11.
2	Cultivated					widely cult.
4	Naturalized					widely natzd.
6	Other					exact native range obscure

Native
Africa

MACARONESIA: Cabo Verde
NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, Chad, Yemen [Arkhabīl Suquţrá]
EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
WEST-CENTRAL TROPICAL AFRICA: Central African Republic, Cameroon, Gabon, Sao Tome and Principe
WEST TROPICAL AFRICA: Benin, Côte D'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo
SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Angola, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Botswana
WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN: Madagascar

Asia-Temperate

ARABIAN PENINSULA: Yemen
CHINA: China [Anhui Sheng, Hainan Sheng]
EASTERN ASIA: Taiwan

Asia-Tropical

INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: Bangladesh, India [Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Puducherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal], Sri Lanka, Maldives, Pakistan
PAPUASIA: Papua New Guinea
INDO-CHINA: Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam
MALESIA: Indonesia, Malaysia

Australasia

AUSTRALIA: Australia [Queensland, Northern Territory]

Cultivated (widely cult.)
Naturalized (widely natzd.)
Other (exact native range obscure)

Reference(s)

Arechavaleta, M. et al., eds. 2005. Lista preliminar de especies silvestres de Cabo Verde: hongos, plantas y animales terrestres
Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
Hnatiuk, R. J. 1990. Census of Australian vascular plants. Australian Flora and Fauna Series No. 11.
Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
Lock, J. M. & J. Heald. 1994. Legumes of Indochina: a checklist
Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
Wood, J. R. I. 1997. A handbook of the Yemen flora.

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Reference
Environmental	soil improver	Kort, I. de & G. Thijsse. 1984. A revision of the genus Indigofera (Leguminosae-Papilionoideae) in Southeast Asia. Blumea 30:89-151. Note: pages 136-139 treats two subspecies
Materials	tannin/dyestuff	Lemmens, R. H. M. J. & N. Wulijarni-Soetjipto, eds. 1991. Dye and tannin-producing plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 3:81-83.
Medicines	folklore	Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
Medicines	folklore	McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=20064. Accessed 15 April 2026.