230 



ARBORETUM ET FRUTICETUM BRITAXNICUM. 



Genus X. 



AMO'RPHA L. 



T;iE Amorpha, or Bastard Indigo. 

 tielphia Decandiia. 



Lin. Sr/st. Mona- 



Identijication. Lin. Oeii., 369. ; Lam. 111., t 621. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 256. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 234. 

 Synotiymes. Bonafidia jN'ec*. Eletn. No. 1364.; Faux Indigo, Fr. ; Unforra, Ger. ; Amorl'a, Itdl. 

 Derivation. From a, privative, and viorplie, form ; in reference to the deiorraity of the corolla, from 

 the want of the wings and keel. 



Gen. Char. Calyx 5-toothed, obconically campanulate. Vexillum ovate, con- 

 cave. Wings and Keel wanting. Style filiform, straight, glabrous. Stamens 

 exserted, monadelphous at the very base. Leiiume compressed, 1-celled, 

 l_2.seeded. {Don's Alill.) 



Leaves compound, impari-pinnate, alternate, stipulate, deciduous; stipules 

 deciduous. Flowers of a blue violet colour, in spicate racemes. 



Shrubs, large, deciduous; natives of North America. Leaves having many 

 pairs of leaflets that have transparent dots in their disks, and usually minute 

 stipules at their base. The flowers are disposed in racemes, usually grouped 

 at the tips of the branches. The species are highly ornamental on account 

 of their leaves, and more especially of their long spikes of flowers ; which, 

 though, when taken separately, they are small, and imperfect in regard to 

 form, are yet rich from their number, and their colours of purple or violet, 

 spangled with a golden yellow. The plants are not of long duration ; and are 

 liable to be broken by wind; for which reason they ought always to be 

 planted in a sheltered situation. They produce abundance of suckers, from 

 which, and from cuttings of the root, they are very readily propagated. 



Si 1. A. FRUTico^SA Lin. The shrubby Amorpha, or Bastard Indigo. 



Identification. Lin. Sp., 1003. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 256. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 234. 



Synonymes. Wild Indigo, Amer. ; faux Indigo, Fr., Strauchartiger Unform, Ger. ; Indaco bastardo, 



Barba di Giove, Ital. 

 Engravings. Schkuhr Handb., t. 197. ; Bot. Reg., 427. ; and our^^. 375. 



Spec. Char., S^c. Rather arborescent, somewhat 

 villose or glabrous. Leaflets elliptic-oblong, 

 the lowest distant from the base of the 

 petiole. Calyx somewhat villose ; 4 of its 

 teeth obtuse, 1 acuminate. The standard 

 glandless. Legume few-seeded. {Dec. Prod.) 

 An erect glabrous shrub. Carolina and 

 Florida, on the banks of rivers. Height 

 9 ft. to 1 2 ft. Flowers very dark bluish purple ; 

 June and July. Legume brown ; ripe Oct. 

 Naked young wood greyish brown. 



Varieties. 



35 A. f. 2 angustifoUa Pursh has the leaf 



lets linear-elliptic. 



36 A.f. 3 emargindta Pursh has the leaflets 



notched, and the calyx hoary. 

 at //. /. 4 Lewisn Lndd. Cat., 1830, appears to have rather larger flowers! 



and leaves than the species. j 



!E A. f. 5 carulea Lodd. Cat., 1830, has the flowers of somewhat a paler' 



blue. Perhaps only a variation of A. croceo-lanata. 



ss 2. A. (f.) gla^bra Dcsf. The glabrous Amorpha, or Bastard Indigo. 



Identification. Desf. Cat. Hort. Par., 192. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 25G. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 234. ' 



Engraving. Our fg. 376. from a specimen in Dr. Lindley's herbarium. I 



Spec. Char., c^c. Rather arborescent, glabrous. Leaflets elliptic-oblong, thci 





Amrfrjiha fiuticosa. 



