Indigofera australis

Location & distribution maps

Phylogeny & links to associated information

Wikipedia links:       Angiosperms > Eudicots > Rosids  >  Myrtaceae > Indigofera  australis

Other links:     

Plant  information

Common name:         Austral indigo

Conservation status: Least concern

Etymology:   

• The genus name Indigofera is Neo-Latin for "bearing Indigo" (Indigo is a purple dye originally obtained from some Indigofera species)

• The specific epithet australis, from the Latin, means not “Australian” but "southern", referring to the geographical distribution of the species

Flowers:                  

• 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 July and may continue till November in a cool spring

Fruit:                         

• It can regrow and sucker from rootstocks and lateral roots after fire

Leaves:         

• Pinnate and openly spaced on the stems

• Around 10 cm long and velvety smooth to the touch

Stem & branches: 

Roots:         

Habit:        

• Its natural habit is upright, to 2 m high, with flexible stems

Habitat:   

• It grows in a variety of different habitats, mainly open woodland and eucalypt forest, but also in desert and in the margins of rainforest

Distribution:                  

• A very common and widespread species in Australia

• It is widespread in southern Australia from the southeastern Western Australia to northeastern Queensland 

Additional notes:     

• An attractive species of leguminous shrub in the genus Indigofera (family Fabaceae)

• Habitat value

  • It is an excellent habitat plant for wildlife. Like many plants in the pea family, Indigofera australis is nitrogen fixing. 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 – "Grass Jewel"

    • Eurema hecabe – "Common Grass Yellow"

    • Lampides boeticus – "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; however, it may become invasive

  • First Nations Australians are said to have 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

Sources of information:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigofera_australis (2023)