Indigo, Shrubby Indigo

Indigophera suffruticosa

Family: Fabaceae

Plant Description: Erect woody-based perennial bush to 2 m high. Leaves pinnate with leaflets 10-18mm long, alternate. Leaflets oablolng to ellliptic or oblanceolate to obovate, witth entiore margins.. Flowers in spikelike racemes, the upper petal about 5 mm long, reddish.

Plant Trivia:

Field Identification:

Occurrence: Frequent in sandy open places. Coastal prairies

Bloom Period: July-November

Plant Use: This plant was one of the sources of indigo, the blue dye formerly important in commerce.

Key to the species of Indigofera:

  1. Stems prostrate to ascending, upper petal 6-20 mm long……..I. miniata

Shrub to 2 m high, upper petal 5 mm long………………………..I. suffruticosa