Persicaria tinctoria | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
(unranked): | Angiosperms |
(unranked): | Eudicots |
(unranked): | Core eudicots |
Order: | Caryophyllales |
Family: | Polygonaceae |
Genus: | Persicaria |
Species: | P. tinctoria |
Binomial name | |
Persicaria tinctoria (Aiton) Spach 1841 |
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Synonyms | |
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Persicaria tinctoria is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family. Common names include Chinese indigo and "Japanese indigo." It is native to Eastern Europe and Asia.
The leaves were a source of indigo dye. It was already in use in the Western Zhou period (ca. 1045-771 B.C.), and was the most important blue dye in East Asia until the arrival of Indigofera from the south.