Common Name: California false indigo

Duration: Perennial

Nativity: Native

Lifeform: Shrub

Wetland Status: FAC

General: Shrubs, unarmed and gland dotted, minutely pilose herbage, 1-4 m tall.

Leaves: Long, pinnate leaves, the tip of the leaf ending in a single leaflet, leaflets entire, bright green, smooth, gland-dotted, spineless.

Flowers: Flowers small, clustered in long spikes, petals when present purple (banner petal only), with 5 sepals these with narrowly triangular lanceolate teeth, stamens 9-10.

Fruits: Legumes borne in large, spike-shaped clusters, bean wrapped by a papery bract at the base and bearing a small, curved spike at the tip, generally indehiscent.

Ecology: Found in wetted areas, mostly along drainage banks and bases, also on wooded or open slopes, from 5,000-6,500 ft (1524-1981); flowers in spring.

Notes: Differentiate this species from A. fruticosa in that this species is spineless, and A. fruitcosa has glandular spines.

Ethnobotany: Unknown

Etymology: Amorpha comes from the Greek word amorphos for deformed, californica means of or from California.

Synonyms: None

Editor: LCrumbacher, 2011