''Indigofera australis'', the Australian indigo or Austral indigo, is an attractive species of

leguminous A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock for ...

shrub in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

Indigofera ''Indigofera'' is a large genus of over 750 species of flowering plants belonging to the pea family Fabaceae. They are widely distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Description Species of ''Indigofera'' are mos ...

'' (family Fabaceae). The genus name ''Indigofera'' is Neo-Latin for "bearing Indigo" (

Indigo Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...

is a purple dye originally obtained from some ''Indigofera'' species). ''Australis'', from the Latin, means not “Australian” but "southern", referring to the geographical distribution of the species.

Description

Its natural habit is upright, to 2 m (7 ft) high, with flexible stems. The leaves are pinnate, openly spaced on the stems, around 10 cm long and velvety smooth to the touch. The flower color is unusual, ranging through soft purple hues, often pinkish and a change from other species flowering at the same time. The flowers are smooth, in short spires in the leaf axils, freely produced and showy, outlining the curves of the stems. They may open at any time from mid-September and may continue till November in a cool spring. It can regrow and

sucker Sucker may refer to: General use * Lollipop or sucker, a type of confection * Sucker (slang), a slang term for a very gullible person * Hard candy ** Cough drop ** Mint (candy) Biology * Sucker (botany), a term for a shoot that arises undergro ...

from

rootstock A rootstock is part of a plant, often an underground part, from which new above-ground growth can be produced. It could also be described as a stem with a well developed root system, to which a bud from another plant is grafted. It can refer to a ...

s and

lateral roots Lateral roots, emerging from the pericycle (meristematic tissue), extend horizontally from the primary root (radicle) and over time makeup the iconic branching pattern of root systems. They contribute to anchoring the plant securely into the soil, ...

after fire.

Distribution

A very common and widespread species in Australia, ''Indigofera australis'' grows in a variety of different habitats, mainly open woodland and

eucalypt Eucalypt is a descriptive name for woody plants with capsule fruiting bodies belonging to seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australasia: ''Eucalyptus'', ''Corymbia'', ''Angophora'', '' Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...

forest, but also in desert and in the margins of rainforest. It is widespread in southern Australia from the southeastern

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

to northeastern

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

Habitat value

It is an excellent habitat plant for wildlife. The flowers are a pollen and nectar source for many native insects, including bees and wasps. The plant is a useful food plant for butterfly larvae (caterpillars): * ''

Freyeria trochylus ''Freyeria trochylus'', the grass jewel, is a small butterfly found in Africa, Arabia (United Arab Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia), southern Europe (Bulgaria and Greece), India and southern Asia that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family. Des ...

'' – "Grass Jewel" * ''

Eurema hecabe '' Eurema hecabe'', the common grass yellow, is a small pierid butterfly species found in Asia, Africa and Australia. They are found flying close to the ground and are found in open grass and scrub habitats. It is simply known as "the grass yello ...

'' – "Common Grass Yellow" * ''

Lampides boeticus ''Lampides boeticus'', the pea blue, or long-tailed blue, is a small butterfly that belongs to the lycaenids or gossamer-winged family. Etymology The Latin species name ''boeticus'' refers to Baetica, a province of the Roman Empire in the Iber ...

'' – "Long-tailed Pea Blue" * '' Zizina labradus'' – "Common Grass-blue"

Uses

The attractive flowers, and the plants adaptability to grow in different situations make it suitable as an ornamental plant in Australia. The

Australian aborigines Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Isla ...

crushed the leaves and added these to water to kill or stun fish and eels. The leaves and stems produce yellow-fawn dye with alum as

mordant A mordant or dye fixative is a substance used to set (i.e. bind) dyes on fabrics by forming a coordination complex with the dye, which then attaches to the fabric (or tissue). It may be used for dyeing fabrics or for intensifying stains in ...

. Zizina labradus-Butterfly-on-Rose SC,-EG-Vic,-23.2.2008.jpg , Common Grass Blue butterfly Indigofera australis Eastwood.jpg, Australian indigo growing at

Eastwood, New South Wales Eastwood is a suburb of Sydney, Australia. Eastwood is located 17 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government areas of the City of Ryde and the City of Parramatta. Eastwood is in the Northern Sydney re ...

References

External links

Indigofera australis
on Plant Net (retrieved September 18, 2009)

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6024831 australis Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of South Australia Flora of Tasmania Flora of Victoria (Australia) Flora of Western Australia Garden plants Drought-tolerant plants