Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
Photo by: Kari Ruder, Hernando Chapter, FNPS

Nomenclature

Common Name:

false indigo-bush, bastard-indigo

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Amorpha fruticosa

Family:

Fabaceae (Leguminosae)

Plant Specifics

Form:

shrub

Size:

6-12 ft tall by 6-10 ft wide

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

blue, purple

Fruit Color:

brown (legume)

Phenology:

Deciduous. Blooms spring-summer.

Noted For:

Showy Flowers, Fall Color

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Multistemmed shrub that can form small thickets. Plant as a screen, hedge, or background plant.

Considerations:

Can become aggressive in some habitats.

Availability:

Native Nurseries

Propagation:

Easily grown from seed and will likely self-seed, cuttings, air layers and suckers. 

Light:

Part Sun

Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded------------------------------------------------Extremely Dry

-|---|----|-- <-------------------------> |----|--

Usually moist, occasional inundation ---to--- Short very dry periods

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand

Soil pH:

Suitable to Grow In:

8A,8B,9A,9B,10A

Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators, Butterflies, Caterpillars, Hummingbirds, Birds, Mammals

Larval host for southern dogface ( Zerene cesonia ), gray hairstreak ( Strymon melinus ), and silver-spotted Skipper ( Epargyreus clarus ).





Said to attract bees, beetles, and other insect pollinators.

Native Habitats:

Moist hammocks, dry hammocks, dry hardwood forests

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

General Comments: