Indigofera hilaris
Indigofera hilaris var. hilaris in Vernon Crookes Nature Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Genus: Indigofera
Species:
I. hilaris
Binomial name
Indigofera hilaris
Synonyms
  • Indigofera hirta E.Mey. (1836)
  • Indigofera compacta N.E.Br. (1925)
  • Indigofera leipzigiae Bremek. (1933)

Indigofera hilaris, the red bush indigo or gay indigofera, is a species of leguminous shrublet in the genus Indigofera (family Fabaceae).[1]

Etymology

The genus name Indigofera is Neo-Latin for "bearing indigo" (indigo is a purple dye originally obtained from some Indigofera species). Hilaris, from the Ancient Greek, means "cheerful, merry", referring to the bright, colourful display of the flowers.

Description

Flowering plants in recently burned grassland, Gauteng, South Africa

Indigofera hilaris is a perennial shrublet with erect annual stems up to 60 cm from a thick woody rootstock. Leaves are pinnate, with one to four pairs of narrow elliptical, silky and often folded leaflets; basal leaves are reduced, becoming scaly. Stipules are 2–9 mm long, linear and stiff. Inflorescences are short-stalked densely-flowered 1.5–5 cm long racemes, scarcely longer than the leaves. Flowers are reddish-pink to carmine, 7–8 mm long and about 6 mm in diameter. Pods are 10–30 mm long, cylindrical and straight. Flowers bloom from July to December, especially after fires.[2][3]

Distribution

Indigofera hilaris grows in open grasslands through eastern South and tropical Africa in Tanzania, Zambia, Zaire, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Eswatini, Lesotho and South Africa (Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, North-West, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape).[4][1]

References

  1. 1 2 "Indigofera hilaris". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  2. ↑ Plowes, D. C. H.; Drummond, R. B. (1990). Wild flowers of Zimbabwe: a guide to some of the common wild flowers of Zimbabwe. Longman Zimbabwe.
  3. ↑ Timberlake, J. R.; Martins, E. S. (2013). Flora Zambesiaca Volume 3 Part 4: Papilionoideae: Indigofereae. London: Published on behalf of the Governments of Portugal, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and the United Kingdom by the Crown Agents for Oversea Governments and Administrations. pp. 218–219. ISBN 978-1842464083.
  4. ↑ Manning, John C.. (2013). Field guide to wild flowers of South Africa. Cape Town: Random House Struik. p. 278. ISBN 9781920544874.
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