Indigo

Baptisia tinctoria

Indigo

Indigo (Baptisia tinctoria) is a member of the pea family native to the eastern United States, where it grows in dry meadows and open woodland environments. It was used by Native Americans and early settlers as a dye, and the root was used to clean wounds.* A tea made from the root was used as internally during fevers and acute immune challenges, and externally as a poultice for toothaches and wounds.* Later, the Eclectic physicians of the 1800s used this herb for typhoid fever and diarrhea, ulcers, sepsis and sore throat.*