Interesting Facts
Common Names
Common Names in English:
Himalayan Indigo
Description
Genus Indigofera
Shrubs
or herbs, generally pubescent
, hairs
medifixed
appressed
, sometimes mixed with basifixed
hairs. Leaves pinnate or imparipinnate
or palmately trifoliolate
or unifoliolate
or simple
; leaflets
entire; stipules present. Inflorescence an axillary
raceme
or spike or solitary axillary. Bract generally caducous
, bracteoles absent. Calyx lobes
or teeth subequal
or lowermost longer
. Vexillum sessile or clawed. Wing
slightly cohering
with the keel. Keel gibbous on each side and often spurred
. Stamens 9+1, diadelphous
, anthers
uniform
, apiculate
. Ovary with numerous
or 1 to 2 ovules, style glabrous
, stigma capitate, often penicillate
. Fruit linear
or globose
, terete
, 4-3-seeded or compressed
; septate
between the seeds. Seeds globose to cylindric
, truncate
, compressed or quadrate
.
A genus with more than 300 species, widely distributed in tropics and subtropics of both New and Old Worlds, with centre of distribution in Tropical
Africa. In Pakistan it is represented by 24 species.[1]
Physical Description
Habit: Shrub • Climbing: Not Climbing
Flowers: Bloom Period: March. • Flower Color: lavender, violet
Size/Age/Growth
Size: 36-48" tall.
Biology
Reproduction
Duration: Perennial
Growth
Culture: Space 36-48" apart.
Soil: Minimum pH: 6.1 • Maximum pH: 7.8
Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Sun to Partial Shade.
Moisture: Drought Tolerance: High
Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b. (map)
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Plantae
(
)
- Haeckel, 1866
- Plants
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
(
)
- Cavalier-Smith, 1981
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
(
)
- Sinnott, 1935 ex Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Vascular Plants
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
(
)
- Class:
Spermatopsida
(
)
- Brongniart, 1843
- Subclass:
Rosidae
(
)
- Takhtajan, 1967
- Superorder:
Rosanae
(
)
- Takhtajan, 1967
- Order:
Fabales
(
)
- Bromhead, 1838
- Family:
Leguminosae
(
)
- A.L. de Jussieu, 1789, nom. cons.
- Subfamily:
Papilionoideae
(
)
- Tribe:
Indigofereae
(
)
- Genus:
Indigofera
(
)
- C. Linnaeus, 1753
- Indigo
- Specific epithet:
heterantha
- Brandis
- Botanical name: - Indigofera heterantha Brandis
- Specific epithet:
heterantha
- Brandis
- Genus:
Indigofera
(
- Tribe:
Indigofereae
(
- Subfamily:
Papilionoideae
(
- Family:
Leguminosae
(
- Order:
Fabales
(
- Superorder:
Rosanae
(
- Subclass:
Rosidae
(
- Class:
Spermatopsida
(
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
(
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
(
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
(
- Kingdom:
Plantae
(
Synonyms
Indigofera gerardiana Baker • Indigofera gerardiana var. heterantha (Brandis)baker • Indigofera heterantha var. gerardiana (Baker)ali • Indigofera himalayensis var. retusa S. N. Biswas • Indigofera macrostachya Vent. • Indigofera rubroviolacea Dunn
Notes
Name
Status: Accepted Name
.
Comment: Climbing
: Not climbing, Conservation
Status: Not Threatened,
Habit: Shrub
, Habit: Tree
, Lifespan: Perennial
Last scrutiny: Oct-1994
An accepted name in the RHS
Horticultural Database.
Similar Species
Members of the genus Indigofera
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 43 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:
I. amblyantha (Pink-Flower Indigo) · I. ammoxylum (Bois De Rose) · I. arrecta (Bengal Indigo) · I. aspalathoides (Wiry Indigo) · I. astragalina (Hairy Indigo) · I. australis (Austral Indigo) · I. campestris (Creeping Indigo) · I. caroliniana (Carolina Indigo) · I. coerulea (Indigotier Sauvage) · I. coerulea var. coerulea (Surat Indigo) · I. colutea (Rusty Indigo) · I. decora (Chinese Indigo) · I. eriocarpa (Indigofera) · I. glandulosa (Befari) · I. glandulosa var. glandulosa (Befari) · I. guatemalensis (Guatemalan Indigo) · I. hendecaphylla (Trailing Indigo) · I. heterantha (Himalayan Indigo) · I. hirsuta (Hairy Indigo) · I. kirilowii (Chinese Indigo) · I. leucotricha (Silver Indigo) · I. lindheimeriana (Lindheimer's Indigo) · I. linnaei (Birdsville Indigo) · I. longiracemosa (Manga) · I. miniata (Coast Indigo) · I. mysorensis (Mysore Panicled Indigo) · I. pendula (Weeping Shrub) · I. pilosa (Softhairy Indigo) · I. potaninii (Pink-Flower Indigo) · I. pseudotinctoria (Dwarf False Indigo) · I. pseudotinctoria 'Rose Carpet' (Dwarf False Indigo) · I. sphaerocarpa (Sonoran Indigo) · I. spicata (Creeping Indigo) · I. stachyodes (Long Spiked Indigo) · I. stenosepala (Maroampofotra) · I. suffruticosa (Akouveli) · I. suffruticosa suffruticosa (Akouveli) · I. tinctoria (Chinese Indigo) · I. tinctoria arcuata (Indian Indigo) · I. tinctoria tinctoria (Digo) · I. trifoliata (Threeleaf Indigo) · I. trita (Frijolillo) · I. zollingeriana (Zollinger's Indigo)
More Info
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- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Further Reading
- A manual of Indian timbers: an account of the structure, growth, distribution, and qualities of Indian woods. CalcuttaOffice of the Superintendent of Govt. Printing1881 url p. 117.
- A manual of Indian timbers; an account of the growth, distribution, and uses of the trees and shrubs of India and Ceylon with descriptions of their wood-structure, by J. S. Gamble... London: S. Low, Marston & co. ltd., 1902. url p. 230, p. 317, p. 396.
- Arboretum et fruticetum Britannicum; or, The trees and shrubs of Britain, native and foreign, hardy and half-hardy, pictorially and botanically delineated, and scientifically and popularly described; with their propagation, culture, mana London, Henry G. Bohn, 1854. url p. 174.
- Arboretum et fruticetum britannicum; or, The trees and shrubs of Britain, native and foreign, hardy and half-hardy, pictorially and botanically delineated, and scientifically and popularly described; with their propagation, culture, mana London: Henry G. Bohn, 1854. url p. 174, p. 174.
- Hand-list of Coniferae: grown in the Royal botanic gardens. London: Printed for H. M. Stationery off. by Darling & son, Ltd., 1903. url p. 183.
- Hand-list of trees and shrubs, excluding Coniferae, grown in Arboretum. LondonPrinted for H.M. Stationery Off., by Darling1902 url p. 183.
- Nature Reserves of the Himalaya and the Mountains of Central Asia IUCN url p. 179, p. 243, p. 244, p. 252, p. 465.
- Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. 8 1813 Edinburgh: H. M. Stationery Off. url p. 72.
- The flora of British India /By J. D. Hooker assisted by various botanists. Published under the authority of the secretary of state for India in council. 2 1879 London: L. Reeve, 1875-97. url p. 100, p. 100, p. 102.
- The flora of British India. London, L. Reeve & Co., 1875-97. url , .
- The forest flora of north-west and central India: a handbook of the indigenous trees and shrubs of those countries / Commenced by by J. Lindsay Stewart. Continued and completed by Dietrich Brandis. Prepared at the herbarium of the Royal gardens, Kew. LondonW.H. Allen1874 url p. 135.
- Transactions and proceedings of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh. [Edinburgh]: The Society, 1891-1970. url p. 191.
Notes
Contributors
- Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 11, 2012.
Data Sources
Accessed through GBIF Data Portal January 28, 2008:
- GBIF-Spain, Aranzadi Zientzi Elkartea
- Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri Botanical Garden
- Utah State University, USU-UTC Specimen Database
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2841110
- Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ILD-16976
- Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:499445-1
- GRIN Nomen Number: 311552
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 405033
Footnotes
- "Indigofera". in Flora of Pakistan Page 65. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
