ArticleJournal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine2019
Island blues: indigenous knowledge of indigo-yielding plant species used by Hainan Miao and Li dyers on Hainan Island, China.
Article in Journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 30 citations in OpenAlex.
- Boat-shaped houses of the indigenous Li people on Hainan Island, China: plant resources and ecological adaptations.Journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine · 2025Article
- Ethnobotanical study of traditional medicinal plants used by the Miao people in Hainan, China.Journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine · 2025Article
- "Purplish Blue" or "Greenish Grey"? Indigo Qualities and Extraction Yields from Six Species.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- PhytoKeys · 2024Article
- Phylogenomics and plastome evolution ofFrontiers in plant science · 2023Article
- Indigo-A New Tribological Substance Class for Non-Toxic and Ecological Gliding Surfaces on Ice, Snow, and Water.Materials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Article
- Indigofera tinctoria leaf powder as a promising additive to improve indigo fermentation prepared with sukumo (composted Polygonum tinctorium leaves).World journal of microbiology & biotechnology · 2021Article
- Electrochemical Fingerprint Biosensor for Natural Indigo Dye Yielding Plants Analysis.Biosensors · 2021Article
- Quality blues: traditional knowledge used for natural indigo identification in southern China.Journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine · 2021Article
- Ethnobotanical study on plants used for traditional beekeeping by Dulong people in Yunnan, China.Journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundHistorically, indigo-yielding plant species were important cash crops from Central Asia to the southern United States and Central America. Indigo-dyed textiles were widely traded along the legendary Silk Road that linked China to Europe. Today, due to the labor-intensive nature of indigo extraction at the household level, lifestyle changes and the widespread availability of commercially produced indigo paste, traditional indigo extraction methods have declined in villages. Yet Li textile weavers on Hainan Island are internationally recognized as producers of indigo-dyed textile using warp ikat techniques. In contrast, Hainan Miao weavers produce indigo-dyed textiles using batik (wax resist) techniques. The aim of this study was to document the indigenous knowledge on indigo-yielding plant species used by both Hainan Miao and Li people on Hainan Island, China.
methodEthnic uses were documented during three field surveys, through a questionnaire survey of 193 respondents, comprising 144 Hainan Miao and 49 Li traditional dyers. Mention index (QI), Availability index (AI), and Preference ranking (PR) of each indigo-yielding plant species were calculated to screen out plant resources with potential development value.
resultsFive indigo-yielding plant species (from four plant families and four genera) were historically used by Hainan Miao and Li dyers. However, just four species are still in use. Strobilanthes cusia was the main indigo source for Hainan Miao dyers. Li dyers also commonly use Indigofera species (I. tinctoria and I. suffruticosa) for indigo extraction. Wrightia laevis is less commonly used as a contemporary indigo source. Indigo extraction by steeping in water to which lime is added to increase the pH is sharing by the five indigo-yielding plant species. Strobilanthes cusia had the highest QI, AI and PR values in Hainan Miao villages. Indigofera tinctoria had the highest QI and AI values, but Indigofera suffruticosa was preferred by Li dyers.
conclusionIn the process of modernization and urbanization, some Hainan Miao and Li dyers retain the traditional indigo extraction methods. We found that Strobilanthes cusia and Indigofera tinctoria have the most potential for sustainable indigo production in the future. Furthermore, this study documents the details of extraction method from Wrightia laevis for the first time and the use of Ricinus communis seeds in that process. As one of the last places globally where Wrightia laevis is still used for indigo production, the may also be a nice market among textile collectors and museums that keeps the tradition of Wrightia laevis production and use for indigo extraction alive.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.