Produced from plants by a process akin to alchemy, indigo has a unique chemistry that renders it compatible with every type of natural fibre. In the past it was combined with other natural dyes to create a range of colours that are impossible to reproduce without synthetic substitutes (a recent phenomenon). In todays multi-coloured world, it is hard to imagine the incredible impact indigo must have had on the many civilizations that chanced upon it. The accumulation of more than 15 years research, this is the first book to cover in detail all aspects of this subject: historical, agricultural, and botanical chemical and technological; commercial and economic; and, indigos various uses in textiles and its many sociological, medicinal, folkloric and other connotations.