FNPS Plant Database

Amorpha herbacea

cluster-spike indigo-bush

PHOTOS COMING SOON!

Nomenclature

Common Name:

cluster-spike indigo-bush

Synonym(s):

Amorpha herbacea var. herbacea

Genus species:

Amorpha herbacea

Family:

Fabaceae (Leguminosae)

Plant Specifics

Form:

shrub

Size:

3-4 ft tall by 3-4 ft wide

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

white,lavender

Fruit Color:

brown

Phenology:

Deciduous. Blooms spring-summer.

Noted For:

Showy Flowers, Interesting Foliage

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Can be used as a specimen plant in a sunny spot or as a moderately tall wildflower.

Considerations:

Availability:

Seed

Propagation:

Seed, cuttings.

Light:

Full Sun, Part Sun

Moisture Tolerance:

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

Coming Soon!

Not wet but not extremely dry ---to--- Very long very dry periods

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand

Soil pH:

Suitable to Grow In:

8B,9A,9B,10A

USDA zones are based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature.



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Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators, Butterflies, Caterpillars

Larval host for silver spotted skipper ( Epargyreus clarus ) and southern dogface ( Zerene cesonia ) butterflies.





Attracts butterflies and pollinators, especially native bees.

Native Habitats:

Pine rocklands and in marl prairies (trasverse glades).

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

General Comments:

A second subspecies, Amorpha herbacea subsp. crenulata is Endemic to Dade County.  Considered to by Endangered by the State of Florida and by the USFWS. 

Citations:

Chafin, Linda.  2000.  Crenulate Lead Plant.  Field guide to the rare plants of Florida.  Florida Natural Areas Inventory, Tallahassee. FL.



Hammer, Roger L.  2015.  Attracting hummingbirds and butterflies in tropical Florida.  University Press of Florida.



Huegel, Craig, N.  2012.  Native wildflowers and other ground covers for Florida landscapes. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL.



Osorio, Rufino. 2001. A gardener's guide to Florida's native Plants.  University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL.



Wunderlin, R. P., B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. 2021.  Atlas of Florida Plants  ( http://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/ ).] Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

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