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| ## desert false indigo {#desert-false-indigo .Title-Header}           |
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| *Amorpha fruticosa* L.                                                |
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| Plant Symbol = AMFR                                                   |
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##### *Contributed By: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center*

# Alternate Names

River-locust, false indigo, indigobush amorpha, indigobush

# Uses

*Ethnobotanic:* Resinous pustules on the plant contain amorpha, a
contact and stomachic insecticide that also acts as an insect repellant
(Huxley 1992). Desert false indigo also contains some indigo pigment
that can be used to make blue dye.

*Landscape*: *Amorpha fruticosa* is an exotic species that is often
planted as an ornamental. This shrub has an extensive root system and is
also fairly wind tolerant; it can be planted as a windbreak and also to
prevent soil erosion (Huxley 1992). According to Dayton, the early
settlers used this shrub as a substitute for true indigo (McMinn 1939).

# Status

# Please consult the Plants Web site and your State Department of Natural Resources for this plant's current status, such as, state noxious status, and wetland indicator values. 

# Description

*General*: Bean family (Fabaceae). Desert false indigo is a native,
deciduous shrub growing between three to ten feet high. The leaves are
four to eight inches long, with eleven to twenty-five leaflets, ovate to
oblong. This species is highly variable as regards to shape of the leaf
and pubescence (The Great Plains Flora Association 1986). The scented
flowers are purplish blue with orange anthers and occur in three to six
inch long upright spikes in June (Dirr 1997). The fruits are short,
smooth or hairy, glandular legumes containing a single smooth brownish
seed (Freeman & Schofield 1991).

*Distribution*: Desert false indigo occurs in the foothills of the San
Bernardino and San Jacinto mountains southward in the lower mountain
valleys of San Diego county in the upper Sonoran Life Zone (McMinn
1939). It extends southward to Lower California and eastward to Texas
and the Atlantic Coast. This species is also found from Connecticut to
Minnesota, south to Florida and Louisiana (Dirr 1997). For current
distribution, please consult the Plant profile page for this species on
the PLANTS Web site.

# Adaptation 

*Amorpha fruticosa* is commonly found on wet ground along rivers,
streams, ponds, and ditches and occasionally in open wet woods (Freeman
& Schofield 1991). It requires well-drained soil and can grow in
nutritionally rich soil. This plant prefers acid, neutral or basic
soils. It is adaptable to infertile, dry and sandy soils. Once planted,
it remains for life (Dirr 1997). Utilize in dry soil and full sun where
precious few plants will prosper.

# Establishment

*Propagation by Seed*: *Amorpha fruticosa* seeds should be presoaked for
twelve hours in warm water and sown in the early spring in a greenhouse.
The seeds normally germinate at 20ºC in one to two months. When the
seedlings are large enough to handle place them into individual pots and
grow them in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them in their
permanent position in the late spring or early summer.

# Management

Desert false indigo has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil
bacteria. These bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric
nitrogen. The growing plant utilizes some of this nitrogen but other
plants growing nearby can also use some (Huxley 1992).

# Cultivars, Improved and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

Materials are available through native plant seed sources within its
range.

# References

Abrams, L. 1944. *Illustrated flora of the Pacific States*. Vol II.
Stanford University Press, Stanford, California.

Dirr, M.A. 1997. *Dirr's hardy trees and shrubs: an illustrated
encyclopedia*. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon.

Freeman, C.C. & E.K. Schofield 1991. *Roadside wildflowers of the
Southern Great Plains*. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas.

Genders, R. 1994. *Scented flora of the world*. Robert Hale, London.

Hylander, C.J. 1954. *The MacMillan wildlower book*. The MacMillan
Company, New York, New York.

Huxley, A.1992. *The new RHS dictionary of gardening*. MacMillian Press,
New York, New York.

McMinn, H.E. 1939. *An illustarted manual of California shrubs*.
University of California Press, Berkeley, California.

Sheat, W.G. 1948. *Propagation of trees, shrubs and conifers*. MacMillan
& Company.

Steyermark, J.A. 1963. *Flora of Missouri*. The Iowa State University
Press, Ames, Iowa.

The Great Plains Flora Association 1986. *Flora of the Great Plains*.
University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas.

# 

# Prepared By

#### *Lincoln M. Moore*

USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center

# Baton Rouge, Louisiana

# Species Coordinator

*Lincoln M. Moore*

USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Edited: 05apr02 ahv; 25feb03 ahv 30may06jsp

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

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*To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, Office of
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