Amorpha fruticosa
(false indigo-bush)

Preferred Scientific Name

• Amorpha fruticosa L.

Preferred Common Name

• false indigo-bush

Other Scientific Names

• Amorpha angustifolia F.E.Boynton
• Amorpha arizonica Rydb.
• Amorpha bushii Rydb.
• Amorpha croceolanata Watson
• Amorpha curtissii Rydb.
• Amorpha dewinkeleri Small
• Amorpha emarginata Eastw.
• Amorpha fragrans Sweet
• Amorpha humilis Tausch
• Amorpha occidentalis Abrams
• Amorpha pendula Carriere
• Amorpha tennesseensis Kuntze
• Amorpha virgata Small

International Common Names

• English: bastard indigo; desert false indigo
• French: amorphe arbustif; faux indigo; indigo batard
• Russian: amorfa kustarnikovaya
• German: gemeiner bastardindigo; gemeiner Bleibusch

Local Common Names

• Czech Republic: netvarec kroviti
• Italy: falso indaco
• Netherlands: indigobloem
• Poland: amorfa krzewiasta
• Turkey: çivit ağacı

EPPO code

• AMHFR (Amorpha fruticosa)

• Domain: Eukaryota
•     Kingdom: Plantae
•         Phylum: Spermatophyta
•             Subphylum: Angiospermae
•                 Class: Dicotyledonae
•                     Order: Fabales
•                         Family: Fabaceae
•                             Subfamily: Faboideae
•                                 Genus: Amorpha
•                                     Species: Amorpha fruticosa

There are approximately 15 accepted species in the genus Amorpha (Cullen, 1995; Roskov et al., 2018). A. fruticosa was first described by Linnaeus in 1753. As the only member of the genus at the time, it was designated as the type species (Wilbur, 1975). The lectotype, designated by Stearn (1957), is a specimen preserved at the British Natural History Museum (Herb. Clifford: 353, Amorpha 1). A. fruticosa is highly morphologically variable, and many varieties and forms were described in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, based on both vegetative and sexual characteristics (IPNI, 2005; Missouri Botanical Garden, 2018).

The following description is from the Flora of China (Flora of China Editorial Committee, 2010):

Deciduous shrubs, 1-4(-6) m tall. Stems pubescent, glabres­cent. Leaves 10-15-(30) cm; stipules bristlelike; petiole 1-2 cm; leaflets 11-25, ovate to elliptic, 1-4 x 0.6-2 cm, abaxially white puberulent, adaxially glabrous or sparsely pubescent, black glandular-dotted, base broadly cuneate or rounded, apex acute, obtuse, or retuse, with a shortly curved spinose tip. Racemes 1 to many, terminal or subterminal, 7-15 cm, densely pubescent; bracts 3-4 mm. Calyx 2.5-3.0 mm long; teeth triangular, unequal, shorter than tube. Standard purple, obcordate, ca 6 mm; wings and keel absent. Style puberulent. Legume dark brown, oblong, curved, 6-10 x 2-3 mm, apex beaked, strongly glandular-dotted, 1-seeded. Seed lustrous, reniform, ca 5 mm, curved upward.

A. fruticosa was introduced to Europe in 1724 as an ornamental plant (Karmyzova, 2014). It was first recorded in Lithuania in 2013, where it is now naturalized and invasive (Gudžinskas and Žalneravičius, 2015).

Soil reaction

• acid
• alkaline
• neutral

Soil texture

• light
• medium

Natural Dispersal

The seed pods of A. fruticosa are buoyant and are spread by water (Szigetvári, 2002; Blagojević et al., 2015).

Vector Transmission (biotic)

Birds and small mammals may disperse the seeds of A. fruticosa (Szigetvári, 2002).

Intentional Introduction

A. fruticosa has been intentionally introduced to countries across Europe and Asia as an ornamental species (USDA-ARS, 2018), and later for degraded land reclamation (Kozuharova et al., 2017).

Impact on Habitats

Szigetvári (2002) describes A. fruticosa as a transformer species that colonizes disturbed areas, particularly floodplain pastures and meadows. Through rapid growth, it forms dense thickets and outcompetes native flora, changing successional patterns and reducing biodiversity (Szigetvári, 2002). It is known to be particularly invasive in riparian and alluvial habitats and is generally accepted to be among the most invasive alien species in Europe (Protopopova et al., 2006; Kozuharova et al., 2017). Allelopathic effects of A. fruticosa have also been reported (Csiszár, 2009).

Impact on Biodiversity

Brigić et al. (2014) demonstrated that changes to the vegetation structure and microclimate of habitats, caused by the invasion of A. fruticosa, have a significant effect on the composition of soil invertebrates.

• Proved invasive outside its native range
• Has a broad native range
• Abundant in its native range
• Highly adaptable to different environments
• Is a habitat generalist
• Tolerates, or benefits from, cultivation, browsing pressure, mutilation, fire etc
• Pioneering in disturbed areas
• Tolerant of shade
• Highly mobile locally
• Long lived
• Has high reproductive potential
• Has propagules that can remain viable for more than one year
• Reproduces asexually
• Has high genetic variability

• Ecosystem change/ habitat alteration
• Increases vulnerability to invasions
• Modification of successional patterns
• Monoculture formation
• Reduced native biodiversity
• Threat to/ loss of native species

• Allelopathic
• Competition - shading
• Competition - smothering
• Rapid growth

• Highly likely to be transported internationally deliberately
• Difficult to identify/detect in the field
• Difficult/costly to control

Economic Value

A. fruticosa has been a popular ornamental plant since the 1700s (Kozuharova et al., 2017). In 2016, Cuivăț et al. reviewed its value in terms of its potential medicinal, food and industrial uses.

Social Benefit

Recent research has demonstrated the potential health benefits of A. fruticosa, particularly in treating diabetes and metabolic disease (Kozuharova et al., 2017)

Environmental Services

A. fruticosa is a honey plant and an important food source for bees across its native and introduced range (Kozuharova et al., 2017). Its well-developed root system means that it has also been planted to stabilize soil and prevent erosion, e.g. on railway embankments (Kozuharova et al., 2017).

Draft datasheet under review