PlantFiles: Indigo Bush, False Indigo, Bastard Indigo, River Locust
Amorpha fruticosa

Class B noxious weed in Washington, banned in Connecticut

A good DG friend gave me one of these plants last year and I loved it so much I bought several more. I knew they were a host plant for Southern Dogface and Silver-spotted Skipper butterflies. Happily, I was able to raise a brood of the Skippers. Hopefully will get the Dogface this year.
The blooms are beginning to emerge now in early April and they are so amazing to watch developing! I get the name of them now A-MORPH-a... fruiticosa. Just as fascinating as the butterflies they support.

Indigo Bush, False Indigo, Bastard Indigo, River Locust Amorpha fruticosa is native to Texas and other States.

I grew these trees from seeds that a friend gave me. They germinated easily, but have been fairly slow growing. I have some of the trees in sun and some in shade. Those in sun are tallest, but still only about 6 ft tall after about 3 years of growth. I prune them regularly to keep them into a compact shape. They have a nice, light, "feathery" leaf structure, somewhat similar to a Mimosa or Cassia in leaf shape and position. The flowers are similar to Bottle Brush (Callistemon) flowers, but greatly reduced in size. The color combination of the flowers, very dark purple with a pin head sized tip of nearly fluorescent orange, is very striking!

This is a shrub that can grow as tall as 20 feet in height and its width is typically twice its height.Usually in urban conditions stays around 10 to 12 feet.The branches are firm and woody and the twigs are green and hairy.The leaves have 13 to 25 leaflets each.The leaflets are 1 to 2 inches long,resinous,dotted and hairy and are medium green. The fragrant,deep purple spikes with orange center flowers bloom June through July.The fruit is about 1/4 inch long, green and turns to brown,and contains 2 seeds each.