False Indigo
Amorpha fruticosa
Photographed along Mesquite Wash, e. Maricopa Co., Arizona. May 2008.
FLOWERS: Numerous dark purple flowers in a long, dense spike. Ten,
conspicuously-yellow stamens and just one dark purple petal.
LEAVES: Leaves are long-pinnately compound. The formula is odd, i.e.
there is a terminal leaflet in addition to the pairs. Crushed foliage is
malodorous.
SHRUB: Woody shrub with upper portions largely herbaceous. Upright stems
often exceed two meters in height. May
form thickets with many stems arising from ground level.
RANGE: In the Sonoran Desert in Arizona this plant is generally
restricted to riparian corridors where there is partial shade and reliable
moisture. Beyond the Sonoran Desert this plant ranges up in elevation all the way to the Ponderosa woodlands mostly in riparian habitats.
North America.
FRUIT: Small, indehiscent
bean pods with just a single bean.
UNARMED
Fabaceae -- Bean Family
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Photographed along a sycamore-lined canyon on Pinal Peak, Gila Co., Arizona. June 2014. The butterfly is a Southwestern Azure, Celastrina echo.