Amorpha fruticosa is a thicket-forming native shrub known for its highly adaptive qualities and ecological value as a larval host for many native butterflies. Commonly called False Indigobush or Desert False Indigo, this leguminous shrub features soft grey-green pinnate foliage on stems that can reach up to 12’ in suitable conditions, although it much prefers to spread horizontally and create a dense community along streambanks, roadsides, riparian edges, and open woodlands alike. If crushed and processed correctly, the velvety leaves create limited amounts of indigo dye. From early May to late June, upright racemes of individual purplish tubular flowers emerge, their golden yellow centers enticing hummingbirds and proboscis-possessing pollinators to visit for nectar and pollen. Solitary bees such as those belonging to the Andrenid order (mining bees) are specialist pollinators of Amorpha species, while many visiting butterflies use False Indigobush as a larval host, including the Black-Spotted prominent, Silver-spotted Skipper, Hoary edge skipper, Gray hairstreak, and California and Southern dogface butterflies. Its fast-growing, suckering habit makes Amorpha fruticosa a fantastic native selection for soil reclamation in riparian zones or moist slopes, especially if situated in full sun, or in drier soils if given part shade.

• Category: Woody Ornamentals
• Hardiness Zone: 4
• Height: 12 Feet
• Spread: 10 Feet
• Bloom Color: Purple