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Indigofera suffruticosa Mill.
Anil De Pasto
Indigo
Shrubby Indigo
Not native to Florida
Native to Southern Mexico and Central America, this small shrub or herb grows to 2 meters tall in disturbed sandhills and dry, open hammocks of the Florida peninsula, mostly along the east coast, but also in Putnam, Lake, Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties. The current range includes Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, the Carolinas, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
The curved fruits help identify this species of indigo. Alternate leaves are pinnately compound with 7-15 mostly elliptic leaflets.
The small flowers are in spikelike clusters growing from the leaf axils.
Indigofera suffruticosa is one of the indigo plants used historically to make dye used mainly for coloring cloth blue. For more on the history of indigo dye see the AskIFAS page Indigo from Indigofera spp.: Historical and Cultural Overview.
Indigofera suffruticosa is a member of the Fabaceae - Pea family.
Other species of the Indigofera genus in the Wild Florida Photo database:
Indigofera hirsuta - HAIRY INDIGO
Indigofera spicata - TRAILING INDIGO
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (Institute for Systemic Botany) profile for this species
iNaturalist profile for this species
USDA Plant Profile for this species
Date record last modified: Apr 21, 2024
