Indigofera suffruticosa Mill.

Common Names

Indigofera suffruticosa has several common names: Guatemalan indigo, small-leaved indigo (used in Sierra Leone), West Indian indigo, wild indigo, and anil.

Taxonomy

It is a flowering plant belonging to the pea family, Fabaceae.

Native Range

Anil is native to subtropical and tropical regions of the Americas, including the Southern United States, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, and South America extending south to northern Argentina.

Introduced Distribution

This species has been widely introduced to other regions across the globe and currently has a pantropical distribution.

Plant Morphology

It is an erect branching shrub that reaches 1 meter (3.3 feet) in height, with pinnate leaves.

Habitat

It commonly grows in dry, highly disturbed areas such as roadsides and fallow fields.

Uses

Anil is often used as a source of indigo dye; when mixed with Palygorskite clays, it can produce Maya blue, a pigment historically used by Mesoamerican civilizations.