Indigofera suffruticosa |
|
---|---|
anil de pasto, Guatemalan indigo, indigobush |
|
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]
|
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 | |
Synonyms | I. anil |
Name authority | Miller: Gard. Dict. ed. 8, Indigofera no. 2. (1768) |
Web links |