Indigofera linnaei facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Indigofera linnaei |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Indigofera
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| Species: |
linnaei
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| Australian occurrence data from Australasian Virtual Herbarium | |
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Indigofera linnaei, known as Birdsville indigo and nine-leaved indigo, is a species of leguminous shrub in the genus Indigofera (family Fabaceae). The genus name, Indigofera, is derived from Latin and means bearing/containing indigo (a purple dye originally obtained from some Indigofera species), while linnaei derives from Linnaeus.
It is found in throughout South East Asia, extending through the various archipelagos to Australia, where it is widespread in the northern part of the continent.
Distribution
It is found in Assam, Bangladesh, Bismarck Archipelago, China, Himalaya, Hainan, India, Indonesia, Laos, Lesser Sunda Islands, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sulawesi, Thailand, Vietnam, and Australia. Within Australia it is found in Queensland, Western Australia, the Northern Territory, New South Wales, and South Australia.
Description
Indigofera linnaei is a spreading, usually prostrate woody herb, 15–50 cm high with a long taproot, which forms a flat mat up to 1.5 m across, and up to 45 cm high. The compound leaves are up to 3 cm long, with (generally) 7 or 9 obovate, alternate leaflets which have a mucronate apex and are about 8–15 mm long and 2–5 mm wide. The stipules are lanceolate (shaped like a lance-head) and about 5 mm long with broad, dry margins. The inflorescences are dense and up to 2 cm long. The calyx is covered with spreading, white hairs. The petals are red. The standard slightly exceeds the calyx, and the wings and keel are shorter. The pod is oblong and silky, about 3–7 mm long, pointed at apex, and usually contains two seeds.
The branches are covered with appressed white hairs; leaves peltate, 3–5 cm long; leaflets 7-9, obovate-cuneate, 8-13 x 2–5 mm, mucronate, sericeous on both sides; stipules c. 3 mm long, lanceolate, lateral, free, sericeous. The inflorescence is a subsessile, dense, a glomerule-like spike, 1–2 cm long. It is few- to 25-flowered, with bracts lanceolate, 3–4 mm long, pubescent, scarious, with a strong central vein terminating in an acuminate tip. The flowers are sessile, about 5 mm long; calyx campanulate, 3–5 mm long, villous, the narrow acuminate teeth much longer than the tube. The petals red; standard obovate-spathulate, slightly exceeding the calyx; wings and keel shorter, inserted.
In the Northern Territory, it is a weedy species often found in disturbed or overgrazed areas and on a variety of soils from skeletal soils and red sand to cracking clay. It flowers and fruits in all months of the year.
In Western Australia it flowers from January to May, and is found on sandy soils, on sandstone & limestone ridges, along rives and creeks, and on rocky hillsides. It is not considered a species of conservation concern in Western Australia to according to the Declared Rare and Priority Flora List.
