Respected members,
Here's a new Indigofera species addition to our website.
Indigofera arrecta Hochst. ex A.Rich
Family - Fabaceae
Indigofera arrecta is a East African species introduced into India and cultivated largely in British times as its other major source of commercial Indigo along with Indigofera tinctoria. Both these species are very closely related however I. arrecta can be distinguished based on characters having comparitively more number of leaflets, grooved branches, much taller plants (7-8 feets), longer racemes (upto 4cm) and ferrugino-pubescent calyx and standard petal/banner.
Photographed as naturalised species in Bengaluru Outskirts, Karnataka
In October 2021
With best regards
Ashutosh Sharma