OF ORNAMENTAL EXOTIC PLANTS. 
109 
L— INDIGOFEEA AM(ENA Ait. THE PLEASING INDIGO TREE. 
SvNONYMES. — I. purpurea Hort. ; I. heterophylla Tlrnnh. Engraving. — Bot. Reg., t. 300. 
Specific Character. — Leaves ternate, oval, hairy. Branches cylindrical. Spikes pedunculate. Stipules bristly. Calyx loose. Stem shrubby. 
Description, &c. — A branching upright shrub, covered with soft silvery down, which gives the whole plant a 
greyish hue. The flowers are of a bright rose-colour and very ornamental. The species is a native of the Cape 
of Good Hope, and was introduced in 1774. 
2.— INDIGOFERA VIOLACEA Boxh. THE VIOLET-COLOURED INDIGO TREE. 
Engravings. — Bot. Mag., t. 3348 ; and owe fig. 1, in PL 25. I oblong leaflets. Racemes axillary, shorter than the leaves. Legume 
Specific Character.^ — Shrubby. Leaves consisting of six pairs of | erect, rigid, subcylindrical, glabrous, six or ten-seeded. 
Description, &c. — A shrub, growing, in the free ground of a conservatory, to the height of five feet, and 
forming a very showy plant from its flowers, which are violet and rose-coloured. The leaves are pinnate, and 
consist of five or sLv pairs of oblong leaflets. The species is a native of India, but it is very nearly hardy in this 
country. It was introduced in 1820. 
OTHER SPECIES OF INDIGOFERA. 
I. DOSUA Dec. 
This plant is very oimamental, from its bright rose-coloured flowers, which are produced in the greatest 
profusion during the summer months. It was introduced from Nepal in the year 1838, and it flowered for the first 
time in England m May, 1840. 
I. DECORA Lindl. 
This is a very pretty bush, introduced from China by Mr. Fortune in 1840. It is a native of the North of 
China, where it forms a dwarf shrub, with pale pink flowers, the standard of which is nearly white. The plant 
should be grown in sandy peat, and during the summer months it should be supplied with abundance of air and 
water ; while to prevent the leaves from being scorched by the sun, occasional shading will be necessary. 
I. AUSTRALIS Vent. 
A pretty little plant, inti’oduced by Sir Joseph Banks in 1790. The flowers are rather small, and of a 
reddish purple. 
I. STACHYODES Lindl. 
A handsome species, the flowers of which are rather small, but are produced in a dense spike. The keel is of 
a bright rose-colour ; but the species is most easily distinguished by its leaves, each of which consists of from 
eighteen to twenty-two leaflets. The plant is a native of the mountainous districts of India, and it was introduced 
in 1840. 
I. NUDA G. Don. 
This species is a native of the Cape of Good Hope, whence it was introduced in 1814. It is figured in the 
“ Botanical Magazine ” under the name of Lebeckia nuda. 
There are several other species, which are greenhouse plants in this country, but they have generally small 
flowers, and are not particularly ornamental. 
