Interesting Facts
Common Names
Common Names in English:
Softhairy 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: Herb • Climbing: Not Climbing
Biology
Reproduction
Duration: Annual
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:
pilosa
- Poir.
- Botanical name: - Indigofera pilosa Poir.
- Specific epithet:
pilosa
- Poir.
- Genus:
Indigofera
(
- Tribe:
Indigofereae
(
- Subfamily:
Papilionoideae
(
- Family:
Leguminosae
(
- Order:
Fabales
(
- Superorder:
Rosanae
(
- Subclass:
Rosidae
(
- Class:
Spermatopsida
(
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
(
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
(
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
(
- Kingdom:
Plantae
(
Notes
Name
Status: Accepted Name
.
Comment: Climbing
: Not climbing, Conservation
Status: Not Threatened,
Habit: Herb, Lifespan: Annual
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
- Search for Pictures: images.google.com
- Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
- Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Further Reading
- Berhaut, J. 1971–. Flore illustrée du Senegal. (F Senegal)
- Boudet, G. et al. 1986. Catalogue des plantes vasculaires du Mali. (L Mali)
- Brunel, J. F. et al., eds. 1984. Flore analytique du Togo. Phanerogames. (F Togo)
- Gillett, J. B. 1958. Indigofera (Microcharis) in tropical Africa. Kew Bull. add. ser., 1:58.
- Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953–1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2. (F WT Afr)
- Lebrun, J.-P. et al. 1972. Catalogue des plantes vasculaires du Tchad meridional. (L SChad)
- Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist. (Leg Africa)
- Thulin, M. 1983. Leguminosae of Ethiopia. Opera Bot. 68:1-223. (Leg Ethiop)
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 December 19, 2007:
- Herbarium of the University of Aarhus, The AAU Herbarium Database
- Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri Botanical Garden
- USDA PLANTS, USDA PLANTS Database
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 3874683
- Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ILD-2666
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13626460
- Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:499822-1
- GRIN Nomen Number: 70383
- Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 26747
- U.S.D.A. Plant Symbol: INPI
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 44051
Footnotes
- "Indigofera". in Flora of Pakistan Page 65. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
