Amorpha fruticosa
Template:Short description Template:Speciesbox
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.[1] It is native to North America.
Description
Amorpha fruticosa is a perennial shrub.[2] It grows as a glandular, thornless shrub which can reach Template:Cvt in height and spread to twice that in width. It is somewhat variable in morphology. The leaves are made up of many hairy, oval-shaped, spine-tipped leaflets. The inflorescence is a spike-shaped raceme of many flowers, each with a single purple petal and ten protruding stamens with yellow anthers. The fruit is a legume pod containing one or two seeds.[3]
Distribution and habitat
The native range extends through much of the United States and south into Mexico.[4] Its native habitats include stream and pond edges, open woods, roadsides and canyons.[2]
The species has escaped cultivation elsewhere and is present as an introduced species in Europe,[5] Asia, and other continents. It is often cultivated as an ornamental plant, and some wild populations may be descended from garden escapes. Invasive in Georgia.
Chemistry
6'-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-12a-hydroxydalpanol, a rotenoid, can be found in the fruits of A. fruticosa.[6] Several members of the amorfrutin class of compounds have been isolated from the fruits.[7] Amorfrutins as well as other secondary metabolites from A. fruticosa have displayed favorable bioactivities counteracting diabetes and the metabolic syndrome.[8]
Ecology
It is a larval host to the clouded sulphur, gray hairstreak, hoary edge, Io moth, marine blue, silver-spotted skipper, and southern dogface.[9] The plentiful seeds are a food source for bobwhite quail. Both bees and butterflies use the flowers as a nectar source.[10]
Cultivars
- 'Albiflora', with white flowers
- 'Crispa', with curled leaves
- 'Lewisii', with narrow leaves
- 'Pendula', with arching branches, forming a dome shape
References
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- ↑ Template:GRIN
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- ↑ The Xerces Society (2016), Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects, Timber Press.
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External links
- Jepson Manual Treatment
- USDA Plants Profile
- Template:GRIN
- Amorpha fruticosa L. Medicinal Plant Images Database (School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University) Template:In lang Template:In lang