False indigo

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False indigo

False indigo flowers

False indigo fruit

False indigo

False indigo inflorescence

False indigo inflorescence

False indigo leaves

False indigo fruit

False indigo fruit

False indigo bark

False indigo

False indigo leaf

False indigo leaves

False indigo bark

False indigo

False indigo habit

False indigo fruit

Morphology

Stem

Erect, 1-several from base, often branching, bushy-topped.

Leaves

Alternate, odd-pinnately compound, generally 4 to 12 inches long, herbage of current season minute-hairy; on stalks 1 to 2 inches long; stipules narrowly linear, falling off early; leaflets opposite, 4-15 pairs plus 1; oblong or elliptic, 1/2 to 2 inches long, 2/5 to 1 inch wide; margins entire; tips rounded to pointed or apex notched with sharp, short point; surfaces variously hairy to nearly glabrous.

Inflorescence

Racemes, spike-like, erect, solitary or more typically 3-several clustered together, densely flowered, 2 to 8 inches long, terminal.

Flower

Short-stalked; calyx cone-shaped, glabrous or hairy, 5-lobed; lobes rounded or triangular; corolla reddish-purple; petal 1, erect, egg-shpaed, 1/5 to 1/4 inch long, folded to enclose stamens and pistil; stamens 10, filaments united near base.

Fruit

Pod, curved, about 1/4 inch long, glabrous or short-hairy, 1-seeded; seeds smooth, reddish-brown.

Ecology

Habitat

Stream and pond margins, open wet woods, rocky banks, ravines, and roadsides; moist soils.

Distribution

Throughout Kansas.

Practical Information

Uses

The Lakota made arrows from the stem and the Kiowa used the stems for firmness beneath bedding material. The Pawnee would lay the whole plant between pieces of meat and the ground when butchering, to keep the meat clean.

Additional Notes