92


Indigofera longiracemosa Boiv. ex Baill.
Synonym                    : Indigofera tinctoria var. brachycarpa Vatke
Family                        : Papilionoideae
Local Names              : Neelayamari, Chaulmugra 

Flowering and fruiting period: July – November  
Distribution: Native of South America; now widely cultivated in Asia and Africa
Habitat: River banks and wastelands, often grown as medicinal plants
IUCN status: Data Deficient
Endemic: No
Uses: A decoction of the leaves is used as a diuretic. The root has been used as an antidote for snake poisons. The plant is used as a green manure. The leaves are used to produce the dye indigo. The leaves and twigs do not actually contain indigo but colourless precursors that must be extracted and then processed in order to produce the indigo dye.
Key Characters: Erect subshrubs; branchlets terete; leaflets 7-9, opposite, obovate, odd one larger, 8-16 by 4-10 mm, base cuneate, apex obtuse, mucronate, both surfaces appressed pubescent, membranous. Racemes axillary, c. 2 cm long. Flowers dense; corolla pinkish-purple. Pods cylindric, straight, shortly beaked. Seeds 6-10, obscurely angular.