Species of legume
Amorpha fruticosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
Clade :
Tracheophytes
Clade :
Angiosperms
Clade :
Eudicots
Clade :
Rosids
Order:
Fabales
Family:
Fabaceae
Subfamily:
Faboideae
Genus:
Amorpha
Species:
A. fruticosa
Binomial name
Amorpha fruticosa
Synonyms
Amorpha angustifolia F.E.Boynton
Amorpha arizonica Rydb.
Amorpha bushii Rydb.
Amorpha croceolanata Watson
Amorpha curtissii Rydb.
Amorpha dewinkeleri Small
Amorpha emarginata Sweet
Amorpha emarginata Eastw.
Amorpha fragrans Sweet
Amorpha humilis Tausch
Amorpha occidentalis Abrams
Amorpha pendula Carriere
Amorpha tennesseensis Kunze
Amorpha virgata Small
Amorpha fruticosa is a species of flowering plant in the legume family
Fabaceae , known by several common names, including desert false indigo , false indigo-bush , and bastard indigobush .
[2] It is
native to North America.
Description
Amorpha fruticosa is a perennial shrub.
[3] It grows as a glandular, thornless
shrub which can reach 5 or 6 m (16 or 20 ft) in height and spread to twice that in width. It is somewhat variable in morphology. The leaves are made up of many hairy, oval-shaped, spine-tipped
leaflets . The
inflorescence is a spike-shaped
raceme of many flowers, each with a single purple
petal and ten protruding
stamens with yellow
anthers . The fruit is a
legume pod containing one or two seeds.
[4]
Distribution and habitat
The native range extends through much of the United States and south into Mexico.
[5] Its native habitats include stream and pond edges, open woods, roadsides and canyons.
[3]
The species has escaped cultivation elsewhere and is present as an
introduced species in
Europe ,
[6] Asia, and other continents. It is often cultivated as an
ornamental plant , and some wild populations may be descended from garden escapes.
Flowers
Chemistry
6'-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-12a-hydroxydalpanol , a
rotenoid , can be found in the fruits of A. fruticosa .
[7] Several members of the
amorfrutin class of compounds have been isolated from the fruits.
[8] Amorfrutins as well as other
secondary metabolites from A. fruticosa have displayed favorable bioactivities counteracting diabetes and the
metabolic syndrome .
[9]
Ecology
It is a larval host to the
clouded sulphur ,
gray hairstreak ,
hoary edge ,
Io moth ,
marine blue ,
silver-spotted skipper , and
southern dogface .
[10] The plentiful seeds are a food source for
bobwhite quail . Both bees and butterflies use the flowers as a nectar source.
[11]
Cultivars
'Albiflora', with white flowers
'Crispa', with curled leaves
'Lewisii', with narrow leaves
'Pendula' , with arching branches, forming a dome shape
References
^
"NatureServe Explorer 2.0" . explorer.natureserve.org . Retrieved 2023-10-23 .
^
"Amorpha fruticosa " .
Germplasm Resources Information Network .
Agricultural Research Service ,
United States Department of Agriculture .
^
a
b
"Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin" . www.wildflower.org . Retrieved 2022-01-06 .
^
"Western False Indigo, Amorpha fruticosa" . calscape.org .
Archived from the original on 2017-12-16.
^
"Amorpha fruticosa L. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science" . Plants of the World Online . Retrieved 2022-10-14 .
^ DAISIE (2009). Handbook of Alien Species in Europe . Dordrecht: Springer. p. 399.
ISBN
978-1-4020-8279-5 .
^ Hak Ju Lee; Ha Young Kang; Cheol Hee Kim; Hyo Sung Kim; Min Chul Kwon; Sang Moo Kim; Il Shik Shin; Hyeon Yong Lee (2007).
"Effect of new rotenoid glycoside from the fruits of Amorpha fruticosa LINNE on the growth of human immune cells" . Cytotechnology . 52 (3): 219–226.
doi :
10.1007/s10616-006-9040-5 .
PMC
3449409 .
PMID
19002880 .
^ Weidner, C.; De Groot, J. C.; Prasad, A.; Freiwald, A.; Quedenau, C.; Kliem, M.; Witzke, A.; Kodelja, V.; Han, C.-T.; Giegold, S.; Baumann, M.; Klebl, B.; Siems, K.; Muller-Kuhrt, L.; Schurmann, A.; Schuler, R.; Pfeiffer, A. F. H.; Schroeder, F. C.; Bussow, K.; Sauer, S. (2012).
"Amorfrutins are potent antidiabetic dietary natural products" (PDF) . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 109 (19): 7257–62.
Bibcode :
2012PNAS..109.7257W .
doi :
10.1073/pnas.1116971109 .
PMC
3358853 .
PMID
22509006 .
^ Kozuharova, E; Matkowski, A; Woźniak, D; Simeonova, R; Naychov, Z; Malainer, C; Mocan, A; Nabavi, SM; Atanasov, AG (June 8, 2017).
"Amorpha fruticosa - A Noxious Invasive Alien Plant in Europe or a Medicinal Plant against Metabolic Disease?" . Frontiers in Pharmacology . 8 : 333.
doi :
10.3389/fphar.2017.00333 .
PMC
5462938 .
PMID
28642702 .
^ The Xerces Society (2016), Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects, Timber Press.
^ Kurz, Don (2004). Shrubs and Woody Vines of Missouri (Second ed.). Conservation Commission of the State of Missouri. p. 48.
ISBN
1-887247-44-0 .
External links
Media related to
Amorpha fruticosa at Wikimedia Commons