Indigofera tinctoria L. is a perennial of the pea family that can grow to seven feet. The leaves are pinnate: nine to thirteen small leaflets grow from a common leaf stem. The insignificant white-red flowers grow in stocky clusters. This indigo plant is probably native to India , but because it can be easily cultivated, it has become widely distributed; under the Arabs and it went as far as Moorish Spain. Shortly before the plants blossom, in the early morning - often before sunrise - they are cut above ground. The branches are bundled and placed whole in masonry containers. After perhaps three-foot-high layer of vegetation has been trodden down and weighted with segments of tree trunks, it is covered with water. At temperatures greater than 30°C ( 86°F ), a fermentation process begins.
