The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

California false indigo, false indigo

Habit Shrubs, (0.7–)1–3(–4) m; arising from compact, woody root.
Stems

smooth, often with spinelike glands, mostly short-pilose to puberulent, glabrate, or glabrous.

Leaves

(5–)10–20 cm;

stipules linear to narrowly oblong, (2–)4–6 mm;

petiole (7–)10–15(–25) mm, glands spinelike, scattered, puberulent or glabrous;

rachis glands spinelike, puberulent to short-pilose;

leaflets (11–)13–19(–25), stipels acicular, 1–1.5 mm, petiolule 0.7–1.5(–1.8) mm, gland-dotted, pilosulous or glabrous, blade mostly oblong, (8–)15–25(–42) × (6–)10–15(–20) mm, base round to subcordate, margins not revolute, entire or finely crenulate, apex round to obtuse or emarginate, surfaces puberulent to short-pilose or glabrous;

midveins terminated by a swollen, globose mucro, 0.2–0.5 mm.

Racemes

unbranched, (5–)10–18(–25) cm;

rachis often with spinelike glands, pilose;

bracteoles linear to lanceolate, 1.5–4 mm, usually gland-dotted, sometimes eglandular, short-pilose.

Pedicels

0.3–1.2 mm, eglandular, mostly puberulent to short-pilose.

Flowers

calyx tube narrowly cylindric to funnelform, 2–2.8 mm, distal 1/2 sometimes gland-dotted, puberulent, short-pilose, or glabrous;

lobes triangular to narrowly lanceolate, 0.4–2(–2.5) mm;

banner reddish purple, broadly obovate, 5–7 × 2.5–4 mm, indistinctly clawed, margins entire;

filaments 6–7 mm, connate basally 2–3.2 mm;

anthers pale yellow;

ovary mostly densely short-pilose.

Legumes

sessile, 6–8 × 2.5–3.5 mm, margins curved outward abaxially, straight adaxially, at least distal 1/2 gland-dotted, mostly short-pilose.

Seeds

olive brown or reddish brown, 3–4 × 1.5–2 mm, smooth.

Amorpha californica

Distribution
from USDA
w United States; nw Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Shrubs mostly short-pilose or puberulent; calyx tubes puberulent to short-pilose, lobes (0.8–)1–.
→ 2(–2
2(–2. 5) mm.
var. californica
1. Shrubs glabrous or glabrate; calyx tubes glabrous or sparsely short-pilose, lobes 0.4–0.8(–1) mm.
var. napensis
Source FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Amorpha
Sibling taxa
A. canescens, A. confusa, A. crenulata, A. fruticosa, A. georgiana, A. glabra, A. herbacea, A. laevigata, A. nana, A. nitens, A. ouachitensis, A. paniculata, A. roemeriana, A. schwerinii
Subordinate taxa
A. californica var. californica, A. californica var. napensis
Name authority Nuttall in J. Torrey and A. Gray: Fl. N. Amer. 1: 306. (1838)
Web links