Nature's  blue dye,  mysterious and magical comes from the green leaves of the  indigo plant.

An ancient dye that  dates  4000 - 6000 BC, used for thousands of years by cultures throughout the world.  Remnants of blue indigo cloth have reportedly been found in Egyptian tombs.

Thousands of  plant varieties,  only about 20  to 30  have enough indigo pigment or 'indican' to  produce  the  dye. 

Southern plantations used a unique and labor intensive process of extraction, which involves fermentation and oxidation.

An important part of South Carolina  eighteenth century history as a huge cash crop, second only to rice, with exports  of a million pounds annually, mostly to the British.

 Credit for the  South's indigo industry  given to the remarkable, young (16 year old) Eliza Lucas Pickney.

Grows wild along the dirt roads of Daufuskie Island!