FNA: Indigofera suffruticosa

	Indigofera suffruticosa
	anil de pasto, Guatemalan indigo, indigobush, shrubby indigo
Habit	Herbs, perennial, strigose, hairs appressed, grayish silvery.
Stems	erect or ascending, many stems from ground, much-branched distally, stems angled, 5–20 dm.
Leaves	6–11 cm; stipules narrowly triangular, attenuate, 5–6 mm; petiole 10–20 mm; stipels 0.5–1.5 mm; petiolules 0.5–1.5 mm; leaflets 9–17, opposite, blades elliptic or oblanceolate, 15–20(–40) × 5–10(–15) mm, base cuneate, apex acute, mucronate, surfaces strigose, abaxially sometimes glabrate.
Racemes	20–30+-flowered, dense, 3.5–5.5 cm.
Peduncles	0.5 cm.
Pedicels	1 mm.
Flowers	5–6 mm; calyx 1.5–2 mm, lobes deltate to lanceolate; corolla greenish yellow, orange, or purple-pink.
Legumes	dark brown, reflexed, cylindric, strongly curved, 15–20 mm, leathery, base not bulbous or reddish, strigose to glabrate.
Seeds	4–6, reddish brown, cuboid.
2n	= 16, 32.

	Indigofera suffruticosa
Phenology	Flowering year-round.
Habitat	Dry, sandy, open woodlands, along streams, abandoned fields, ruderal or agricultural areas.
Elevation	0–300 m. [0–1000 ft.]
Distribution	FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC; TX; Central America; South America (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay) [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Asia, Africa, Pacific Islands, Australia] [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Discussion	Indigofera suffruticosa is probably native to the New World tropics and subtropics. In the New World, it became a major source of blue dye. It was spread through cultivation to other regions of the world (P. C. Standley and J. A. Steyermark 1946). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source	FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa	Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Indigofera
Sibling taxa	I. caroliniana, I. colutea, I. decora, I. hirsuta, I. kirilowii, I. lindheimeriana, I. miniata, I. oxycarpa, I. pilosa, I. sphaerocarpa, I. spicata, I. texana, I. tinctoria
Synonyms	I. anil
Name authority	Miller: Gard. Dict. ed. 8, Indigofera no. 2. (1768)
Web links	Local Web sites: LA Plants WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Indigofera suffruticosa

anil de pasto, Guatemalan indigo, indigobush, shrubby indigo

Habit

Herbs, perennial, strigose, hairs appressed, grayish silvery.

Stems

erect or ascending, many stems from ground, much-branched distally, stems angled, 5–20 dm.

Leaves

6–11 cm;

stipules narrowly triangular, attenuate, 5–6 mm;

petiole 10–20 mm;

stipels 0.5–1.5 mm;

petiolules 0.5–1.5 mm;

leaflets 9–17, opposite, blades elliptic or oblanceolate, 15–20(–40) × 5–10(–15) mm, base cuneate, apex acute, mucronate, surfaces strigose, abaxially sometimes glabrate.

Racemes

20–30+-flowered, dense, 3.5–5.5 cm.

Peduncles

0.5 cm.

Pedicels

1 mm.

Flowers

5–6 mm;

calyx 1.5–2 mm, lobes deltate to lanceolate;

corolla greenish yellow, orange, or purple-pink.

Legumes

dark brown, reflexed, cylindric, strongly curved, 15–20 mm, leathery, base not bulbous or reddish, strigose to glabrate.

Seeds

4–6, reddish brown, cuboid.

= 16, 32.

Indigofera suffruticosa

Phenology

Flowering year-round.

Habitat

Dry, sandy, open woodlands, along streams, abandoned fields, ruderal or agricultural areas.

Elevation

0–300 m. [0–1000 ft.]

Distribution

FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC; TX; Central America; South America (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay) [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Asia, Africa, Pacific Islands, Australia]

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Discussion

Indigofera suffruticosa is probably native to the New World tropics and subtropics. In the New World, it became a major source of blue dye. It was spread through cultivation to other regions of the world (P. C. Standley and J. A. Steyermark 1946).

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

Source

FNA vol. 11.

Parent taxa

Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Indigofera

Sibling taxa

I. caroliniana, I. colutea, I. decora, I. hirsuta, I. kirilowii, I. lindheimeriana, I. miniata, I. oxycarpa, I. pilosa, I. sphaerocarpa, I. spicata, I. texana, I. tinctoria

Synonyms

I. anil

Name authority

Miller: Gard. Dict. ed. 8, Indigofera no. 2. (1768)

Web links

Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).

The species comparison tool is brought to you by:

Flora of North America species comparison

Indigofera suffruticosa

Indigofera suffruticosa