Indigofera elandsbergensis Phillipson

Species

Angiosperms > Fabales > Fabaceae > Indigofera

Characteristics

Shrub to about 1.5 m. Entire plant except flowers somewhat glaucous. Stems erect, densely branched distally, glabrous, grey-green when young, becoming dark red-brown. Leaves distichous, evenly and closely spaced, digitately trifoliolate; petioles 3-10 mm long, glabrous, or very sparsely appressed-pubescent; leaflets subequal, obovate to sub-rotund, 5-14 x 3-9 mm, green; apices rounded to truncate, mucronate; bases cuneate; adaxial surface glabrous or sparsely appressed-pubescent, especially towards the margins; abaxial surface glabrous; midrib and secondary veins somewhat pellucid; petiolules about 0.5 mm, with paired subulate stipels up to 1 mm long. Stipules ovate to elliptic, 4-8 x 2.5-5 mm, as long or longer than the corresponding internode, glabrous or with a few appressed trichomes on the adaxial surface; apices mucronate to acuminate; margins fused together at the base along the leaf-opposed edges to form a short annular sheath fused to the base of the petiole. Annular sheath persistent on old stems. Margins of stipules and leaflets cartilaginous, pink-tinged. Racemes usually solitary on the branches, in the axils of the upper leaves, up to 80 mm long, at least 3 times as long as the subtending leaves, moderately densely flowered; axis glabrous; peduncles equal or slightly shorter than the subtending leaves. Flowers about 10 mm long; pedicels about 2 mm long; bracts ovate, cucullate, shortly acuminate, about 5 x 3 mm, glabrous, pale green to yellow, becoming purple-brown, early caducous. Calyx obliquely campanulate, 3-4 mm long; teeth more or less equalling the tube, narrowly triangular; pedicel and calyx glabrous, dark purple. Petals deep pink. Standard petal sub-rotund, about 9 x 9 mm, tapering rapidly at the base to a short claw, glabrous; apex rounded to emarginate; central blotch hyaline, radiating from the base along the veins, with a feint pink-purple areola. Wing petals about 10 x 4 mm, glabrous; blade deeper pink than the standard; apices obtuse. Keel petals about 8.5 x 2.5 mm, shading to deep magenta in the distal half (especially pronounced on the inside in the region of the anthers), glabrous except for a fringe of hyaline trichomes along the upper margins; fringe denser towards the base; upper margin with two distinct regions of curvature; lower margin strongly curving upwards to nearly erect; apex rounded-obtuse; lateral spurs to 2 mm long, tapering to the apex. Anthers with a tuft of hairs at the base; staminal sheath 7-8 mm long, pale below, shading to magenta above. Pods cylindrical, about 3.0 x 2.5 mm, green-brown becoming brown with blackish-blue upper surface, glabrous, patent or slightly deflexed, only a few maturing on each raceme; ovules 6-8. Seeds separated in the pods by persistent oblique pithy septa, rather rectangular in section with slightly oblique ends, about 2 x 1.5 x 1.5 mm, brown-green with a yellow-green ring around hilum and a black mark from hilum to anterior end; hilum just below the centre, slightly depressed, oval, grey-brown.
Life form perennial
Growth form shrub
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 1.5
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer rhizobia
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) -

Usage

Uses -
Edible -
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
Germination duration (days) 30 - 90
Germination temperacture (C°) 10
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment soaking
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Distribution

Indigofera elandsbergensis world distribution map, present in South Africa

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:961356-1
WFO ID wfo-0000191564
COL ID 3PM2W
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Indigofera elandsbergensis