Family:
Fabaceae Lindl.
Genus:
Indigofera L.

Indigofera schimperi Jaub. & Spach

This species is accepted, and its native range is Eritrea to S. Africa, SW. Arabian Peninsula.

[FSOM]

M. Thulin et al. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1-4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS

Morphology General Habit
Shrubby perennial up to 1.5 m tall, silvery pubescent
Morphology Leaves
Leaf-rhachis up to 6 cm long including a petiole of c. 3 mm
Morphology Leaves Leaflets
Leaflets 3–10, alternate, elliptic or obovate, up to 25 x 20 mm, strigulose on both sides
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Racemes many-flowered, up to 20 cm long including a peduncle of 1–2 cm
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx 2–3 mm long; lobes triangular, 1–2 times as long as the tube
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Standard densely yellowish strigulose outside
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens 4–10 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Pod up to 28 x 2 mm, straight or rarely curved, sometimes torulose, reflexed, white strigulose, up to 12-seeded.
Distribution
N1–3; C1, 2; S1–3 widespread in tropical Africa and in South Africa.
Ecology
Altitude up to 1560 m.
Vernacular
Dharjo, dharqo (Somali).
Note
Very variable, e.g. in leaf shape and flower size.

[FTEA]

Leguminosae, J. B. Gillett, R. M. Polhill & B. Verdcourt. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1971

Morphology General Habit
Herb with a perennial woody rootstock, or sometimes shrubby and up to 1.3 m. tall, with silvery indumentum on stems, leaf-rhachides and inflorescences.
Morphology Leaves
Stipules linear-lanceolate, up to 9 mm. long, with brown scarious margins and subulate tips; rhachis subcylindrical, channelled above, up to 6 cm. long, including a petiole of ± 3 mm., prolonged up to 5 mm. beyond lateral leaflets; leaflets 5–10, alternate, lanceolate-elliptic or obovate, apiculate, up to 25 mm. long and 20 mm. wide, strigulose on both surfaces.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Raceme many-flowered, up to 20 cm. long including a peduncle of 1–2 cm.; bracts reddish, ovate, subulate, ± 1 mm. long, very caducous; pedicels up to 1 mm. long, reflexed after flowering.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx white strigulose, 2–3 mm. long; lobes triangular, 1–2 times as long as the tube.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla densely glistening yellow strigulose outside.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens 4–10 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Pods straight, somewhat curved or bent sharply at the base, subtetragonal, up to 28 mm. long, ± 2 mm. wide, rather densely white strigulose, up to 12-seeded; endocarp not spotted.

[ILDIS]

International Legume Database and Information Service

Conservation
Not Threatened
Ecology
Africa: Somalia-Masai grasslands, Zambezian grassland, Sudanian grasslands
Morphology General Habit
Perennial, Not climbing, Herb/Shrub

[ILDIS]
Use
Forage

Native to:

Angola, Botswana, Caprivi Strip, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Northern Provinces, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Introduced into:

Queensland

Indigofera schimperi Jaub. & Spach appears in other Kew resources:

First published in Ill. Pl. Orient. 5: 94 (1856)

Accepted by

  • Audru, J., Cesar, J. & Lebrun, J.-P. (1994). Les Plantes Vasculaires de la République de Djibouti. Flore Illustrée 1: 1-336. CIRAD, Départerment d'Elevage et de Médecine vétérinaire, Djibouti.
  • Darbyshire, I., Kordofani, M., Farag, I., Candiga, R. & Pickering, H. (eds.) (2015). The Plants of Sudan and South Sudan: 1-400. Kew publishing, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Figueiredo, E. & Smith, G.F. (2008). Plants of Angola Strelitzia 22: 1-279. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
  • Germishuizen, G. & Meyer, N.L. (eds.) (2003). Plants of Southern Africa an annotated checklist Strelitzia 14: 1-1231. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
  • Hedberg, I. & Edwards, S. (eds.) (1989 publ. 1990). Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea 3: 1-659. The National Herbarium, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia & The Department of Systematic Botany, Upps.
  • Lepschi, B. & Monro, A. (Project Coordinators) (2014). Australian Plant Census (APC) Council of Heads of Australian Herbaria. http://www.anbg.gov.au/chah/apc/index.html.
  • Lock, J.M. (1989). Legumes of Africa a check-list: 1-619. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Schrire, B.D. (2012). Flora Zambesiaca 3(4): 1-245. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Thulin, M. (ed.) (1993). Flora of Somalia 1: 1-493. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Wood, J.R.I. (1997). A handbook of the Yemen Flora: 1-434. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Literature

Kew Backbone Distributions

  • Audru, J., Cesar, J. & Lebrun, J.-P. (1994). Les Plantes Vasculaires de la République de Djibouti. Flore Illustrée 1: 1-336. CIRAD, Départerment d'Elevage et de Médecine vétérinaire, Djibouti.
  • Darbyshire, I., Kordofani, M., Farag, I., Candiga, R. & Pickering, H. (eds.) (2015). The Plants of Sudan and South Sudan: 1-400. Kew publishing, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Figueiredo, E. & Smith, G.F. (2008). Plants of Angola Strelitzia 22: 1-279. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
  • Lepschi, B. & Monro, A. (Project Coordinators) (2014). Australian Plant Census (APC) Council of Heads of Australian Herbaria. http://www.anbg.gov.au/chah/apc/index.html.
  • Lock, J.M. (1989). Legumes of Africa a check-list: 1-619. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Schrire, B.D. (2012). Flora Zambesiaca 3(4): 1-245. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Wood, J.R.I. (1997). A handbook of the Yemen Flora: 1-434. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Flora of Somalia

  • Flora Somalia, Vol 1, (1993) Author: by M. Thulin [updated by M. Thulin 2008]

Flora of Tropical East Africa

  • Gillett in Kew Bulletin, Add. Ser. 1: 116 (1958).
  • Jaub. & Spach, Ill. Pl. Or., t. 484 (1856).
  • Torre in Consp. Fl. Angol. 3: 130 (1962).

International Legume Database and Information Service

  • Gillett, J. B. (1958). Kew Bull. Addnl. ser. 1:1-166. Indigofera.. in Tropical Africa.
  • Gillett, J. B. et al. (1971). Papilionoideae. In: Fl. Trop. E. Africa, Milne-Redhead & Polhill

  • Flora of Somalia

    Flora of Somalia
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    Flora of Tropical East Africa
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • International Legume Database and Information Service

    International Legume Database and Information Service (ILDIS) V10.39 Nov 2011
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0