Indigofera

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Indigofera
Inflorescences of an indigo plant (Indigofera tinctoria)

Inflorescences of an indigo plant ( Indigofera tinctoria )

Systematics
Rosids
Eurosiden I
Order : Fabales (Fabales)
Family : Legumes (Fabaceae)
Subfamily : Butterflies (Faboideae)
Genre : Indigofera
Scientific name
Indigofera
L.
Illustration of Indigofera suffruticosa .

The genus Indigofera is the third largest plant genus within the legume family (Fabaceae) with around 700 species . The generic name refers to the fact that some species contain the blue dye indigo .

description

Vegetative characteristics

In Indigofera TYPES this is rarely one-year, mostly perennial herbaceous plants , shrubs or small trees. Most parts of the plant are hairy tomentose. The leaves are pinnate in pairs or mostly unpaired, in some species they are simple or reduced to a pinnate leaf. The edges of the leaves or leaflets are smooth. Glands are rarely present on the leaves. The stipules are durable or fall off early.

Generative characteristics

The flowers appear singly in the leaf axils or in axillary racemose or ährigen inflorescences with mostly early sloping bracts . Cover sheets are missing.

The hermaphrodite flowers are zygomorphic and fünfzählig double perianth (perianth). The five sepals are fused bell-shaped or cup-shaped. The five calyx teeth are almost the same or the bottom one is longer. The petals are often pink, red or orange, rarely white or yellow. The flag is nailed briefly to its base. The shuttle often has a spur that is fused with the wings. The wings are narrow. Nine of the ten stamens are fused. The carpel contains many or only one to many ovules . The linear, mostly hairless style ends in a cephalic scar.

The legumes are elongated to pencil or spherical and contain three to four seeds. The hilum is small. The two cotyledons ( cotyledons ) are not equal.

distribution

The genus Indigofera occurs worldwide in tropical to warm temperate climates. Their main distribution is, however, with about 490 species in Africa and Madagascar .

Systematics

The genus Indigofera belongs to the tribe Indigofereae in the subfamily of the butterflies (Faboideae) within the family of the legumes (Fabaceae).

Bremontiera DC is a synonym for Indigofera L. There are about 30 sections and 700 species within the genus Indigofera .

Indigofera ammoxylum
Indigofera australis
Indigofera bracteolata
Indigofera hendecaphylla
Indigofera heterantha
Indigofera pseudotinctoria
Indigofera potaninii

Types (selection)

There are around 700 species of Indigofera :

use

Some species ( Indigofera tinctoria , Indigofera suffruticosa , Indigofera articulata , Indigofera arrecta ) are used for coloring or to obtain the dye indigo, others for green manure or as fodder plants. In some species such as Indigofera endecaphylla, Indigofera mucronata and probably some others, the substances indospicin , canavanine and hiptagenic acid occur. These cause hereditary damage and are made responsible for specific horse diseases.

photos

Indigofera decora :

  • Habitus

  • legumes

  • inflorescence

Indigofera astragalina :

  • Habitus

  • inflorescence

swell

Gao Xinfen & Brian D. Schrire: Fabaceae in the Flora of China : Indigofera - Online. SI Ali: Papilionaceae in the Flora of Pakistan : Indigofera - Online.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c G. Lewis, B. Schrire, B. Mackinder & M. Lock: Legumes of the world , RBG Kew, 2005. ISBN 1-900347-80-6
  2. ^ A b Indigofera in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), USDA , ARS , National Genetic Resources Program. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
  3. ^ Robert Hegnauer, Minie Hegnauer: Chemotaxonomy of plants; ISBN 978-3-7643-6269-0 .

Web links

Commons : Indigofera  - collection of images, videos and audio files