Amorpha Seed

LATIN NAME: AMORPHA FRUTICOSA

COMMON NAME: False Indigo

The false indigo tassels the upright, branching shrub with the pinnate leaves of the many small leaflets and the dense, upright, tassel-like spikes of the small, deep-purple flowers with the orange stamens that open through the early summer, the small, gland-dotted pods following, the spikes tassel above the foliage. The shrub grows quickly into the dense, rounded bush, and it stands the cold and the dry spells well. It likes the sun, and the well-drained soil.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The purple flower spikes of the false indigo give it a recognised place in the research on the nitrogen-fixing shrubs of the pea family, and the fruticosa species appears in the studies of the erosion-control growth and the flower pigment chemistry. The work looks at the dense root system, the way the spikes tassel above the foliage, and the seed biology. The soil scientists value the binding roots, and the growers of the windbreak and reclamation shrubs keep the species in their catalogues.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

In the sunny, dry garden, the false indigo tassels the early-summer garden with the purple spikes. The flowers open for the bees, the roots fix the nitrogen and bind the eroding ground, and the shrub makes the screen, the shelter and the soil cover. It grows well in the well-drained, sunny ground. Purple-tasselled, tough and soil-binding.

To grow the False Indigo from seed, pour the hot water over the seeds, then leave them overnight, sow them into the sandy drills of the tray, keep the tray in the warm, bright spot and water gently, and the seedlings surface within a few weeks.

Keep the tray in the warm, bright spot and water gently, and pot the seedlings on as they grow. The tasselled sprays come within a season or two. Plant the young shrubs in the sunny, open ground, and the tasselled sprays will colour the early summer.

red flowers

Amorpha canescens is a small shrubby plant that is graced with long spikes of clear red flowers from July to September. Its long bloom time and attractiveness to butterflies make Leadplant a great native substitute for Butterfly Bush