Indigofera

From Freepedia

? Indigofera
Image:Indigofera tinctoria1.jpg Indigofera tinctoria
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Fabales Family: Fabaceae Subfamily: Faboideae Tribe: Indigofereae Genus: Indigofera
Species
About 700 species, including: Indigofera amblyantha Indigofera atropurpurea Indigofera australis Indigofera cassioides Indigofera cylindrica Indigofera decora Indigofera dielsiana Indigofera dosua Indigofera frutescens Indigofera hebepetala Indigofera heterantha Indigofera kirilowii Indigofera pendula Indigofera potaninii Indigofera pseudotinctoria Indigofera suffruticosa Indigofera tinctoria

Indigofera is a large genus of about 700 species of flowering plants belonging to the family Fabaceae. They occur throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, with a few species reaching the temperate zone in eastern Asia.

The species are mostly shrubs, though some are herbaceous, and a few can become small trees up to 5-6 m tall; most are dry-season or winter deciduous. The leaves are pinnate with 5-31 leaflets, the terminal leaflet present; leaf size varies from 3-25 cm long. The flowers are small, produced on racemes 2-15 cm long.

Uses

Several of them and especially Indigofera tinctoria and Indigofera suffruticosa are used to produce the dye indigo.

The chemical Aniline, from which many important dyes are derived, was first synthesized from I. suffruticosa (syn. I. anil, whence the name aniline).