Assessing Indigofera tinctoria L. as a forgotten medicinal industrial plant and the importance of its revitalization for the sustainability of Iran's agricultural ecosystems

Indigo (Indigofera tinctoria L.) belongs to the legume family and is originally native to India. The dye extracted from its leaves was known in ancient civilizations such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, England, Central America, Peru, Iran and Africa. In 1986, the area under cultivation of this plant was about 1694 hectares. In 2016, the cultivation of this plant has reduced to 265 hectares. This study is a kind of development research and review, its method is a library survey, and the data was collected by taking notes. The results show that indigo can be considered as one of the forgotten crops in the country due to the decrease in cultivated area. This plant is currently cultivated only in some areas of Kerman province such as Fahraj, Jiroft and Regan, while in most of these areas it grows wild in pastures and in the mountains at an altitude of 700 meters above sea level. Therefore, to conserve and protect this useful and important species, it should be used in crop rotations and stable ecosystems. It is also necessary to identify and generalize all aspects of this medicinal-industrial plant, and proper planning should be done to prevent it from being forgotten.