many parts of the tropics. It is known in cultivation prin- 
cipally in western Mexico from Sonora and Chihuahua to 
Oaxaca, and perhaps in San Luis Potosi. (75*, 1838, 145*) 
Indigofera suffruticosa Mill. (I. Anil L.): Xiu- 
quilitl, jiquelite, anil, indigo. 
This American species of indigo was apparently culti- 
vated in Mexico and Guatemala as a source of a blue pig- 
ment used extensively to dye clothing; it was also used 
by the Mexican women to tint their hair (98, 172). The 
cultivation of indigo for export was promoted by the 
Europeans, but has declined because of the development 
of synthetic dyes. The plant is now widespread as a weed 
and may have had a rather extensive natural distribution 
(33). Its cultivation probably originated in the Guate- 
mala-southern Mexico area. (33*, 115, 183, 155, 162, 
166, 191, 192, 194*, 201) 
Ipomoea Batatas (L.) Poir.: Camotli, camote, ba- 
tata, sweet potato. 
The sweet potato was and is extensively grown in 
Mexico, the region of Querétaro being long noted for the 
excellence of this crop. It was not only widely grown in 
tropical America, but in Polynesia as well, a fact which 
has led to much discussion (58, 69, 99). Vavilov (207) 
assigns it to the south Mexican-Central American cen- 
ter of origin (diversity), though some other writers favor 
a South American origin. J. tilacea (Willd.) Choisy 
UI. fastigiata (Roxb.) Sweet) is thought to be the ances- 
tral form (58, 100), but its present distribution is too 
broad to pin-point the area in which it was first culti- 
vated. It ranges from Florida and Mexico to South 
America. The information presently available seems in- 
adequate to reach a conclusion as to the exact geographic 
origin of J. Batatas. (49, 58*, 69, 100*, 188, 197, 202, 207) 
[ 185 | 
