Amorpha fruticosa L. - False Indigo
Family - Fabaceae
Stems - Woody, multiple.
A shrub to +3m tall. Young branches pubescent.
Leaves - Alternate, odd-pinnate.
Leaflets typically oblong, entire, mucronate, opposite, pubescent to glabrous
above and below.
Inflorescence - Terminal
and axillary racemes to +15cm long, +/-1.3cm in diameter. Pedicels to 3mm
long.
Flowers - Corolla of single
petal, deep violet-purple, to 5mm long. Petal falsely tubular and surrounding
other floral organs. Stamens 10, monodelphous, slightly exserted. Filaments
glabrous, white, 4-5mm long. Anthers orange, .6mm long. Style purplish,
pubescent, 5mm long, exserted. Fruits to 7mm long, glabrous or sparsely
pubescent. Calyx pubescent, tubular, campanulate, 2.5mm long, 5-lobed.
Lobes unequal, shallow. Lowest lobe acute.
Flowers close-up.
Flowering - May - June.
Habitat - Moist ground, gravel bars. Also cultivated.
Origin - Native to U.S.
Other info. - This striking shrub can be found throughout Missouri.
I believe Steyermark
lists 5 varieties for this plant mostly based on leaf and stem pubescence.
I won't go into those here. There is also a hybrid plant between A.
fruticosa and A. canescens. This plant
is called Amorpha X notha Palmer.
The genus name means "without shape",
referring to the single-petaled corolla.
Photographs taken in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Shannon County, MO., 5-19-03.
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