False Indigo

Plant Info

Also known as:	Desert False Indigo, Bastard Indigo
Scientific name:	Amorpha fruticosa
Family:	Pea (Fabaceae)
Life cycle:	perennial
Origin:	native
Habitat:	sun to part shade; moist; along shores, edges of woods
Bloom season:	late spring to early summer
Plant height:	3 to 12 feet
USDA PLANTS database:	Minnesota county distribution map
Spotted in Ramsey County at:	Vadnais/Snail Lake Regional Park

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Detailed Information

Flower:

Flowers are in spike clusters to 6 inches long and ½ to 1 inch in diameter. Individual flowers are about ¼ inch long, tubular looking, deep purple to reddish brown with 10 protruding yellow-orange tipped stamen. The “tube” is actually a single petal rolled up to look like a tube. One plant has numerous spikes, with 1 to a few spikes at the end of branching stems.

Leaves and stem:

Leaves are compound in groups of 11 to 25, alternately attached at the main stem. Leaflets are generally oval, rounded at both ends, to 1½ inch long and ¾ inch wide, and toothless. They can be hairless or hairy to varying degrees. The main stem is woody and hairless.

Notes:

False Indigo is technically a shrub. It is native to the midwest but has been cultivated in other parts of the country. The flowers look very similar to Lead Plant, but its leaflets are smaller, more numerous and compact, it grows in dry habitats and only grows to a maximum 3 feet tall.

More photos

• False Indigo plant, about 4 feet tall
• more flowers

Photos taken at Vadnais/Snail Lake Regional Park, Shoreview, MN June-July 2008

Comments

Have you seen this plant in Ramsey County, or have any other comments about it?

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Please: Do not ask about where to buy seed or other gardening questions, are plants edible, etc. I am not a horticulturist or botanist, just an enthusiastic hobbyist so I probably don't know the answer. Please check the links page for additional resources. -thanks much

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