Scientific Family
Fabaceae
Other common names
indigo bush
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Perennial
Height
4 to 8 inches
Riparian
No
Gray perennial pungent herb with spreading and ascending branches and yellow flowers. Plant has special beneficial value to all types of bees.
Leaflets many (11 to 51); upper leaves are only slightly reduced; flower spikes are 10 to 15 mm wide; flowers are stemless; petals leave a scar when they fall; floral bracts and calyx tubes are smooth, stems branch at the base.
Habitat
Gravels, dry sandy areas, limestone rubble.
Plant Community
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Interior Chaparral
Grasslands
Desert Scrub
Low elevation
3000
High elevation
6000
Flower Characteristics
The small, pea-like flowers are borne on dense, hairy, erect egg-shaped flower spikes on short stems.
Flower color
Yellow
Flower shape
Irregular
Tubular
No
First bloom month
May
Last bloom month
September
Flower clusters
Elongated
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
The leaflets are green, hairy above and below and opposite. Leaves are compound, pinnate and alternate.
Leaf type
Compound
Leaf color
Green
Leaf shape
Pinnatifid
Leaf margin
Smooth
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
Leaves & stems
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
The flowers are followed by feathery, reddish seedpods.
Fruit type
Pod
Fruit color
Reddish
Seeds are tan and bean shaped.