North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Amorpha fruticosa

Amorpha fruticosa L.

tall indigo bush, false indigo bush

Synonym(s): Amorpha angustifolia, Amorpha bushii, Amorpha croceolanata, Amorpha curtissii, Amorpha dewinkeleri, Amorpha fruticosa var. angustifolia, Amorpha fruticosa var. croceolanata, Amorpha fruticosa var. emarginata, Amorpha fruticosa var. oblongifolia, Amorpha fruticosa var. occidentalis, Amorpha fruticosa var. tennesseensis, Amorpha occidentalis, Amorpha occidentalis var. arizonica, Amorpha occidentalis var. emarginata, Amorpha tennesseensis, Amorpha virgata

Image ID: 9991
Image by: Sorrie, Bruce A.
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: AMFR
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Amorpha fruticosa
Include in WOTAS: 0
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2018-09-16

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: AMORP
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Amorpha
GENUS AUTHORITY: L.
GENUS COMMON: False indigo
GENUS SUMMARY: A genus of about 15 species, shrubs, of temperate North America.
GENUS IDENTIFICATION:
GENUS REFERENCES: Straub, Sorrie, & Weakley (2009)=X; Wilbur (1964)=Z; Wilbur (1975)=Y; Isely (1998)=I.

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: FABACE
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Fabaceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: Lindley 1836 or LEGUMINOSAE A.L. de Jussieu 1789
FAMILY COMMON: Legume Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: A family of about 730 genera and 20,000 species, trees, shrubs, and herbs, cosmopolitan.
FAMILY REFERENCE: Isely (1990)=SE (throughout the family treatment); Isely (1998)=I; Lewis et al. (2005); Wojciechowski, Lavin, & Sanderson (2004); Wilbur (1963a); Robertson & Lee (1976).

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO:
STEMS:
LEAVES:
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS: Purple/orange flowers.
FRUITS:
COMMENTS:
HEIGHT: 8-12 ft.

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Shrub

LEAF ARRANGEMENT: Alternate
LEAF COMPLEXITY: Pinnate
LEAF RETENTION: Deciduous

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY:
BLOOM TIME: April-June

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
		x	x	x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR:

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
			x					x	x

FRUITING PERIOD: June-Oct.

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE:
NATIVE RANGE: North America to northern Mexico

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text: Spikes of small deep purple flowers with bright orange anthers provide an attractive spectacle in May. This upright and spreading shrub is found growing on stream and river banks, as well as in open woods. This native deciduous shrub is infrequently offered for sale. Easy to grow, it is adaptable to dry, sunny spots where few plants will thrive. The genus Amorpha supports up to 23 species of lepidoptera.

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Dry, Average, Moist/Wet
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun, Part Shade, Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 4
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 9
GERMINATION CODE: 2, 3
WILDLIFE VALUE: Bee Friendly, Butterfly Friendly
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM COLLECTIONS

Coll_id	Project	Collection date	Collector	Action
1624	HORT	1981-06-04		View
2734	NPMD	2022-09-13	Searles	View

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
1898	1986-1681			View
3745	1991-0440			View
4523	1992-0679			View
8900	1985-0421	0000-00-00	1624	View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
1483	8900	161	NCBG staff	1981-06-04	View
2999	1898	6	NCBG staff	1971-05-01	View
6052	3745	199	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
6851	4523	200	NCBG staff	1993-03-01	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: AMFR
USDA Common Name: False Indigo Bush
Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY), CAN (MB, NB, ON, QC)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Shrub

NATIONAL WETLAND INDICATOR STATUS

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:	FACW		FACW		FACW	FACW		FACW	FACW	FACW

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2016 National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.3 (Lichvar, R.W., D.L. Banks, W.N. Kirchner, and N.C. Melvin. 2016. The National Wetland Plant List: 2016 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2016-30: 1-17. Published 28 April 2016. ISSN 2153 733X). Regions: AGCP-Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, AK-Alaska, AW-Arid West, CB-Caribbean, EMP-Eastern Mountains and Piedmont, GP-Great Plains, HI-Hawaii, MW-Midwest, NCNE-Northcentral and Northeast, WMCV-Western Mountains, Valleys & Coast

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Amorpha fruticosa
COMMON NAME: Tall Indigo-bush
SYNONYMY: [= C, G, GW, I, K, Mo, Pa, RAB, SE, Va, W, WH3, Y; > A. fruticosa var. angustifolia Pursh - Il; > A. fruticosa var. croceolanata (P.W. Watson) Schneider - Il; > A. fruticosa var. fruticosa - F, Il; > A. fruticosa var. tennessensis (Shuttleworth) E.J. Palmer - F; > A. curtissii Rydberg - S; > A. fruticosa - S; > A. tennesseensis Shuttleworth - S; > A. virgata Small - S]
PHENOLOGY: Apr-Jun; Jun-Oct.
HABITAT: Riverbanks, forests, woodlands, marsh edges, sometimes in disturbed sites.
COMMENTS:
RANGE MAP: Amorpha fruticosa.png

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Fabaceae Lindley 1836 or LEGUMINOSAE A.L. de Jussieu 1789 (Legume Family)
SUMMARY: A family of about 730 genera and 20,000 species, trees, shrubs, and herbs, cosmopolitan.
REFERENCE: Isely (1990)=SE (throughout the family treatment); Isely (1998)=I; Lewis et al. (2005); Wojciechowski, Lavin, & Sanderson (2004); Wilbur (1963a); Robertson & Lee (1976).

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Amorpha L. (False indigo)
SUMMARY: A genus of about 15 species, shrubs, of temperate North America.
REFERENCE: Straub, Sorrie, & Weakley (2009)=X; Wilbur (1964)=Z; Wilbur (1975)=Y; Isely (1998)=I.

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Amorpha fruticosa in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Amorpha fruticosa in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Amorpha fruticosa in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Amorpha fruticosa in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Amorpha fruticosa in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Amorpha fruticosa

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 9991 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 9991 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 0 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 9991 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)