16 
I N D I G 
it. Indigofera denudata, or naked indigo ; leaves ter-. 
nate, ovate, 1'mooth ; racemes peduncled, longer than the 
leaf; (tern (hrubby, upright. This alfo was found at the 
Cape by Thunberg. 
^13. Indigofera Mexicana, or Mexican indfgo: leaves 
ternate, panicle branched into fpikes 3 idem ihrub|ay. 
Found in New Granada by Mutis. 
14. Indigofera trita, or warted indigo: leaves ternate, 
ovate, acute; racemes ihort; idem upright. Stem up¬ 
right, green, having the appearance of I. anil. Native of 
the Eait Indies. 
15. Indigofera coccinea, or fcarlet indigo : leaves ter¬ 
nate, ovate-oblong ; peduncles many-flowered, axillary, 
legumes round, bowed. Native of China about Canton. 
17. Indigofera bufalina : leaves ternate, ovate, fmooth; 
racemes axillary, legumes thick, villofe; idem climbing. 
Native of Cochin-china. 
18. Indigofera filiformis : leaves quinate, oblong, vil¬ 
lofe ; flowers in fpikes, peduncled ; peduncles and branches 
filiform; idem upright. Found at the Cape of Good Hope 
by Thunberg. 
19. Indigofera coriacea, or leathery-leaved indigo: 
leaves quinate, obovate, mucronate, hairy; idipules awl- 
Ihaped, legumes idraight, fmooth. In Linnseus’s Species 
Plantarum this plant is defcribed under the name of Lotus 
mauritankus, as a fmall fhrub, with filiform rigid branches. . 
In the Mantiffa, it was removed to the genus Ononis ; and 
now, in the Catalogue of the Royal Garden at Kew, into 
ihis genus. Native of the Cape of Good Hope ; flowers 
in July and Auguft. 
20. Indigofera digitata: leaves digitate, racemes pedun¬ 
cled ; Idem fhrubby. 21. Indigofera ltrifta: leaves pin¬ 
nate, fmooth, oblong; racemes axillary, fcarcely pedun¬ 
cled ; Idem fhrubby, upright. 22. Indigofera frutefcens : 
leaves pinnate, ovate, fmooth ; racemes axillary, pedun¬ 
cled ; Idem .fhrubby, upright. Thefe were found at the 
Cape of Good Hope by Thunberg. 
23. Indigofera cytifoides, or angular-fdalked indigo: 
leaves quinate-pinnate and ternate; racemes axillary; 
Idem fhrubby. This is defcribed as a fpecies of Pforalea 
.by Linnaeus in his Species Plantarum. Native of the 
Cape of Good Hope ; flowers in July. 
24. Indigofera firagrans : leaves quinate, pinnate, leaf¬ 
lets ovate, hairy, the outmoft larger; legumes four-cor¬ 
nered. Stems round, fomewliat hairy. Leaflets hairy on 
both fides, the end one obovate and larger than the others. 
Found in the.Eaft Indies by Koenig. 
25. Indigofera enneaphylla, or trailing indigo: leaves 
pinnate, wedge-fhaped, in fevens ; Items proftrate ; fpikes 
lateral. Plant deprefled to the ground. Stems feveral, 
round, even, a palm in length, with the lower branches 
.deprefled. Leaves alfo deprefled, fpreading. Native of 
the Eaft Indies. It is twice defcribed in the Mantiffas ; 
under this name, and that of Hedylarum proftratum. 
26. Indigofera femitrijuga: leaves pinnate, obcordate, 
in fives ; legumes fublpiked, pendulous, torulofe : ftem 
prollrate, fuffruticofe. This is a fmall flirub, with round 
limple branches, villole-hoary, as is the whole plant. It 
relembles the 25th and 27th in many circumflances, but 
is fufliciently diltinft from both. Native of the Eaft In¬ 
dies and Arabia. 
27. Indigofera pentaphylla, or five-leaved indigo: leaves 
pinnate, oval, in fives; Items proftrate; peduncles two- 
flowered. Herb deprefled, extremely divaricate. Flowers 
red. It refembles I. enneaphylla very much, bu.t the pe¬ 
duncles are two-flowered, and the plant is double the fize. 
28. Indigofera glabra, or fmooth indigo: .leaves pin¬ 
nate and ternate, obovate ; racemes very fhort; legumes 
horizontal, columnar. This is an annual plant, with 
fmooth leaflets ; the ftem alfo is fmooth. Native of the 
Eaft Indies. 
29. Indigofera hirfuta, or hairy-leaved indigo: leaves 
.pinnate, hirfute; ftem upright, flowers in fpikes; legumes 
pendulous, woolly. Stem lofty, hairy. Native of the 
Fait Ladies. 
O F E R A; 
30. Indigofera fpicata, or fpiked Indigo: leaves pin- 
nate, obovate, flowers in fpikes; legumes columnar, toru¬ 
lofe, pendulous; ftem decumbent. Stem herbaceous, vil¬ 
lofe. Native of Arabia. 
31. Indigofera anguftifolia, or narrow-leaved indigo; 
leaves pinnate, linear ; racemes elongated ; ftem fhrubby. 
Stem fuffrutefcent, fomewhat even; branches alternate, 
the length of the ftem. Native of the Cape of Good 
Hope ; flowers from June to Oftober. 
32. Indigofera anil, or wild indigo: leaves pinnate, lan¬ 
ceolate ; racemes fhort; ftem fuffruticofe. This has the 
habit and appearance of the next fpecies. Mr. Miller 
fays, it grows to the height of five or fix feet, (if this be 
his fvffrulicofa ■,) and that, being a much larger plant, it 
will afford a greater quantity of indigo from the fame 
compafs of ground than any of the other fpecies, efpeci- 
ally if cut before the ftalksgrow woody; it will alfo grow 
on poorer land. Native of the Eaft Indies ; and very- 
common in Jamaica, growing wild in all the favannas, 
where doubtlefs it had been cultivated in former times ; 
for there, we often meet with fotne of thofe indigo-works, 
which were then built, and remain very perfect to this 
day. It is hardier than any of the other forts, and grows 
very luxuriantly even in the dryeft favanna-lands; but it 
does not yield fo much pulp ; the dye, however, that is 
extracted from it, is generally the beft, of a fine copperifli 
eaft, and a clofe grain. 
33. Indigofera tinftoria, or dyer’s indigo : leaves pin¬ 
nate, obovate; racemes fiiort; ftem fuffruticofe. Thi* 
differs from the preceding, in the leaflets being obovate, 
blunt, naked on both fides; the legumes columnar, ftraight, 
but more gibbofe at the future, as in that, and fubtoru- 
lofe, in loofe minute racemes. Thunberg deferibes it 
thus : ftem filiform, fubflexuofe, angular, fmooth, up¬ 
right, a foot and a half high, a little branched at top. 
Branches like the ftem, alternate, upright. Leaflets in 
four pairs or more, very blunt with a point, fmooth, 
very finely villofe underneath, almoft equal. Racemes 
from the axils of the leaves, when they begin to flower 
much fhorter than the leaf, but becoming longer as 
they advance. Legumes drooping, fubcolumnar, fharp, 
ftraight, very finely villofe. Specimens of this plant from 
different parts of India, Madagafcar, Java, Ceylon, &c. 
vary very much, if they are all really the fame fpecies. 
The ftem is higher or fhorter, more or lefs hairy or fmooth ; 
the leaves have from four or five to eight pairs of leaflets, 
larger or fmaller, more or lefs villofe; the legumes are 
ftraight or bowed, villofe or fmooth. Linnaeus, in his 
Flora Zeylanica fays, that the leaves have nine or eleven 
pairs of leaflets, which are green ; and that it is almoft an 
exotic in Ceylon, but frequent in Paliacotta and Coro¬ 
mandel. According to Loureiro it is fpontaneous in 
China and Cochin-china, and is cultivated all over thole 
vaft empires. 
Dr. Patrick Browne, befides the wild indigo already 
mentioned, has two others, which he calls the indigo, and 
the Guatimala indigo-, the former feldom above two feet 
and a half in height, and feeming to divide rather than to 
branch in its growth ; the latter commonly three or four 
feet high, throwing out many fub-ereft branches as it 
riles. This is much hardier, and affords a finer pulp, 
but it does not yield fo great a quantity, and is only culti¬ 
vated where the feafons are not fo certain, or in mixt 
fields. The former, yielding more of the dye than either 
of the others, is generally preferred, though fubjetft to 
many more mifchances. Mr. Miller cultivated the dyer’s 
indigo fo long ago as the year 1731. He calls it Guatimala 
indigo, and fays it is an annual plant with us. He has 
five forts in all ; but, not having defcribed them, we are in 
fome degree uncertain what fpecies he intended. 
The ancients were acquainted with the dye which we 
call indigo, under the name of indicum. Pliny knew that 
it was a preparation of a vegetable fubftance, though he 
was ill informed both concerning the plant itfelf, and the 
procefs by which it was fitted for ule. From its colour, 
and 
