Abstract: The genus Indigofera Linn. is one of the largest genera of papilionatae of Leguminosae. It comprises 700 species in the world, of which 80 species and 8 varieties occur in China. It was established by C. Linnaeus in 1752 and had been studied by J. Desvaux (1813), A. P. De Candolle (1825), G. Bentham ex Harvey (1862), G. Bentham et J. D. Hooker (1865), P. Taubert. (1894), P. Ch. Tisseraut (1913), and B. Gillett (1958) etc. In the present paper, the taxonomic history is reviewed and the evolutionary trends of some important morphological characters are discussed. According to the plant habit, characteristics of leaves, shape of fruits and the number of seeds per fruit, Indigofera Linn. from China are divided into 3 subgenera: Subg. I. Indigofera, Subg. II. Sphaeridiophors Desv., Subg. III. Acanthonotus (Benth.) Benth. et Hook. f., in Subg. Indigofera, 14 subsections are reported. A systematic key to the species is given.

Key words: China, Indigofera Linn., taxonomy, New taxa