Amorpha fruticosa L.

Desert false indigo (en), Amorphe buissonnante (fr), Amorphe arbustive (fr), Indigo du Bush (fr), Faux indigo (fr)

Species

Angiosperms > Fabales > Fabaceae > Amorpha

Characteristics

Deciduous shrubs, 1-4 m tall. Stems pubescent, glabres­cent. Leaves 10-15 cm; stipules bristlelike; petiole 1-2 cm; leaflets 11-25, ovate to elliptic, 1-4 × 0.6-2 cm, abaxially white puberulent, adaxially glabrous or sparsely pubescent, black glandular-dotted, base broadly cuneate or rounded, apex acute, obtuse, or retuse, with a shortly curved spinose tip. Racemes 1 to many, terminal or subterminal, 7-15 cm, densely pubescent; bracts 3-4 mm. Calyx 2-3 mm; teeth triangular, shorter than tube. Standard purple, obcordate, ca. 6 mm; wings and keel absent. Style puberulent. Legume dark brown, oblong, curved, 6-10 × 2-3 mm, apex beaked, strongly glandular-dotted, 1-seeded. Seed lustrous, reniform, ca. 5 mm, curved upward. Fl. May-Jun, fr. Jul-Sep.
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Branching shrub to 4 m; foliage not blackening in drying; petioles 2–5 cm; lfls 4–10+ pairs, green but not shining, 2–4 cm, usually sparsely short-hairy beneath; petiolules almost always pubescent; racemes (1)2–several, 6–20 cm; cal-tube 2–3 mm, the upper 4 lobes 0.5 mm, broadly triangular to half-orbicular, the lowest one somewhat longer and narrower; banner 5–6 mm; fr 5–9 × 2–4.5 mm, strongly glandular, the upper margin usually strongly bulged upward; 2n=40. Moist woods and stream-banks; N.H. to Minn. and s. Sask., s. to Fla., Tex., s. Calif., and n. Mex. May, June. Variable, but not clearly divisible. (A. croceolanata, a southern phase with loose, often tawny or orange pubescence)
A shrub. It loses its leaves during the year. It can grow 2-6 m tall. The leaves are 15-30 cm long with 11-25 leaflets. These are 1-4 cm long and oval. The flowers are in a group at the end. These are 8-15 cm long. The fruit is 8-10 mm long.
Life form perennial
Growth form shrub
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination entomogamy
Spread autochory
Mature width (meter) 1.5
Mature height (meter) 2.5 - 4.5
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) 0.3
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color -
Fruiting months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Nitrogen fixer
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

It is a temperate plant. In Argentina it grows from sea level to 500 m above sea level. It suits hardiness zones 2-8. It grows in wet areas. In Sichuan.
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River banks, rich moist thickets, floodplain forests etc. Grows chiefly in limestone soils.
Light 5-8
Soil humidity 3-6
Soil texture 3-6
Soil acidity 3-8
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 4-7

Usage

The fruit or pod is crushed and used as a condiment.
Uses dye environmental use fiber fodder material medicinal non-vertebrate poison poison
Edible fruits
Therapeutic use Antineoplastic agents (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Can be grown by cuttings or seedlings. Seeds needs soaking.
Mode cuttings seedlings
Germination duration (days) 29 - 74
Germination temperacture (C°) 16 - 18
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment soaking
Minimum temperature (C°) -29
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Habit

Amorpha fruticosa habit picture by Antoine Pantazopoulos (cc-by-sa)
Amorpha fruticosa habit picture by Роман Ковальчук (cc-by-sa)
Amorpha fruticosa habit picture by Julien (cc-by-sa)

Leaf

Amorpha fruticosa leaf picture by Thierry Gelgon (cc-by-sa)
Amorpha fruticosa leaf picture by Antoine Pantazopoulos (cc-by-sa)
Amorpha fruticosa leaf picture by Роман Ковальчук (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Amorpha fruticosa flower picture by J84 (cc-by-sa)
Amorpha fruticosa flower picture by Stefano (cc-by-sa)
Amorpha fruticosa flower picture by Tintin84 (cc-by-sa)

Fruit

Amorpha fruticosa fruit picture by Julien (cc-by-sa)
Amorpha fruticosa fruit picture by vitka (cc-by-sa)
Amorpha fruticosa fruit picture by Liz Pucket (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Amorpha fruticosa world distribution map, present in Albania, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Belarus, Canada, Switzerland, China, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, France, Ghana, India, Iraq, Italy, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Moldova (Republic of), Mexico, Mauritius, Pakistan, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United States of America, and Uzbekistan

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:11421-2
WFO ID wfo-0000213510
COL ID CX4J
BDTFX ID 4171
INPN ID 82164
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Amorpha fruticosa f. pendula Amorpha dewinkeleri Amorpha emarginata Amorpha virgata Amorpha fruticosa Amorpha emarginata Amorpha angustifolia Amorpha arizonica Amorpha bushii Amorpha curtissii Amorpha occidentalis Amorpha fragrans Amorpha humilis Amorpha gardneri Amorpha glauca Amorpha ornata Amorpha colorata Amorpha discolor Amorpha elata Amorpha lewisii Amorpha ludwigii Amorpha nonperforata Amorpha perforata Amorpha tennessensis Amorpha verrucosa Amorpha caroliniana Amorpha macrophyla Monosemeion obliquatum Monosemeion obliquatum Amorpha fruticosa f. albiflora Amorpha fruticosa f. aureo-variegata Amorpha fruticosa f. crispa Amorpha fruticosa f. coerulea Amorpha fruticosa f. glabrata Amorpha fruticosa f. latior Amorpha croceolanata Amorpha pendula Amorpha tennesseensis Amorpha gaertneri Amorpha fruticosa var. vulgaris Amorpha fruticosa var. emarginata Amorpha fruticosa var. angustifolia Amorpha fruticosa var. coerulea Amorpha fruticosa var. lewisii Amorpha fruticosa var. caroliniana Amorpha fruticosa var. crispa Amorpha fruticosa var. pendula Amorpha fruticosa var. croceolanata Amorpha fruticosa var. typica Amorpha fruticosa var. humilis Amorpha fruticosa var. tennesseensis Amorpha fruticosa var. oblongifolia Amorpha fruticosa var. occidentalis Amorpha occidentalis var. arizonica Amorpha occidentalis var. emarginata Amorpha fruticosa var. fruticosa Amorpha fruticosa f. humilis Amorpha fruticosa var. crispa