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Amorpha fruticosa
Also called False Indigo, Bastard Indigo, Tall Indigo Bush, Bastard False Indigo, Bastard Indigo Bush, Indigo Bush, Shrubby False Indigo
Desert false indigo is a large, thornless, deciduous shrub native to the United States and northern Mexico, grown for its spiky purple flowers and tolerance of wet or dry sites. It is easy to grow in most sunny spots and spreads readily by suckers and seed.
Amorpha fruticosa is a species of flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae, known by several common names, including desert false indigo, false indigo-bush, and bastard indigobush. It is native to North America.
6'-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-12a-hydroxydalpanol, a rotenoid, can be found in the fruits of A. fruticosa. Several members of the amorfrutin class of compounds have been isolated from the fruits. Amorfrutins as well as other secondary metabolites from A. fruticosa have displayed favorable bioactivities counteracting diabetes and the metabolic syndrome.
The native range extends through much of the United States and south into Mexico. Its native habitats include stream and pond edges, open woods, roadsides and canyons.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Amorpha fruticosa by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
