Family: Fabaceae
Indigofera
Citation:
L., Sp. Pl. 751 (1753).
Synonymy: Not Applicable Common name: Indigos.
Description:
Shrubs or herbs, generally pubescent; hairs medifixed, appressed, sometimes mixed with basifixed hairs; leaves alternate, simple, 1-foliolate or imparipinnate; leaflets entire; stipules present, small, leathery.
Inflorescence an axillary raceme or spike; bract generally caducous; bracteoles absent; calyx-teeth subequal or the lowermost longer; petals rose or purple; standard sessile or clawed; wings slightly adhering to the keel; keel obtuse or acuminate, erect; 9 stamens connate by their filaments, uniform, apiculate, tenth stamen facing the standard free; ovary with numerous or 1 or 2 ovules; style glabrous; stigma capitate.
Pod linear-terete or globose, septate between the seeds; seeds globose to cylindric, truncate, compressed or cuboid.
Distribution:
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Almost cosmopolitan with about 700 species; 28 species in Australia, 21 being endemic.
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Biology:
No text
Key to Species:
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1. Leaves subsessile, 1-foliolate, linear, 2-4.5 cm long; pod globular, 1-seeded; seed globose |
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I. linifolia 7. |
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1. Leaves peltate, 3-21-foliolate; pod cylindric, 2- or more-seeded; seed cylindric or cuboid |
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2. Glandular-hairy herb; seed cylindric; leaflets 9-15; pod several- seeded |
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I. colutea 4. |
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2. Hairs not glandular; seed cuboid |
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3. Inflorescence a dense subsessile hairy glomerule-like spike to 2 cm long; pod 2-seeded, 3-6 mm long |
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I. linnaei 8. |
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3. Inflorescence more or less pedunculate, a loose or congested raceme or spike; pod 4-12-seeded, more than 20 mm long |
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4. Leaflets 3-7 but usually 5, distal on the rhachis, ovate to obovate or rarely oblong, shortly and densely sericeous; a shrub or undershrub of greyish aspect |
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I. georgei 5. |
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4. Leaflets 5-21 but usually 7 or more, from the base along the rhachis |
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5. Calyx 3-4 (rarely 5-6) mm long, obconical, pubescent with lush dense long blackish or rusty hairs; teeth subequal, lanceolate, longer than the tube; bracts lanceolate-subulate, to 6 mm long, densely grey- or rusty-sericeous; caducous I. basedowii 2 |
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5. Calyx to 3 mm long, after anthesis truncate at the base, oblique at the top; teeth unequal or the upper 2 lacking |
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6. Calyx upper 2 teeth blunt or practically lacking |
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7. Erect bush; branches woody, reddish, almost glabrous; calyx brown-pubescent; pod shiny, red, appearing glabrous |
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I. australis 1. |
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7. Procumbent perennial; branches softly greyish-pubescent; calyx white-pubescent; pod grey-pubescent, dull I. brevidens 3 |
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6. All 5 calyx-teeth distinct, acute; pod greyish- or rusty- pubescent (except in I. uncinata) |
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8. Inflorescence lax, at least twice as long as the leaf; calyx white-pubescent; petals loose at flowering; standard slightly sericeous; prostrate greyish slender subshrubs |
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I. brevidens 3. |
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8. Inflorescence condensed, shorter or slightly longer than the leaves; flowers bean-like; petals compact under a conduplicate standard before opening; standard densely strigose; intricate shrubs or sub-shrubs |
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9. Leaflets densely white-tomentose to woolly-villous on both sides, of rough texture; pod grey-pubescent; subshrubs of greyish aspect |
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I. leucotricha 6. |
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9. Leaflets sparsely strigose, often glabrous above, of soft texture; pod reddish-brown, shiny, appearing glabrous; shrubs of greenish aspect |
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I. uncinata 9. |
Author:
Not yet available
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