Amorpha

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Genus of legumes

title: "Amorpha" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["amorpha", "fabaceae-genera", "flora-of-the-nearctic-realm"] description: "Genus of legumes" topic_path: "general/amorpha" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amorpha" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Genus of legumes ::

|image = Amorpha fruiticosa.jpg |image_caption = Desert false indigo (Amorpha fruticosa) |taxon = Amorpha |authority = L. |subdivision_ranks = Species |subdivision = 16; see text |synonyms =

  • Bonafidia Neck. (1790), opus utique oppr.
  • Monosemeion Raf. (1840) |synonyms_ref =

Amorpha is a genus of plants in the pea family, Fabaceae. All the species are native to North America, from southern Canada, most of the United States (US), and northern Mexico. They are commonly known as false indigo. The name Amorpha means "deformed" or "without form" in Greek and was given because flowers of this genus only have one petal, unlike the usual "pea-shaped" flowers of the Faboideae subfamily. Amorpha is missing the wing and keel petals.

The desert false indigo or indigo bush (Amorpha fruticosa), is a shrub that grows from 3 m to 5 m tall. The species is considered a rare species in the US state of West Virginia and in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario, but is considered an invasive plant in some areas of the northeastern and northwestern United States and in southeastern Canada, beyond its native range, and has also been introduced into Europe.

The lead plant (Amorpha canescens), a bushy shrub, is an important North American prairie legume. Lead plant is often associated with little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), a common prairie grass. Native Americans used the dried leaves of lead plant for pipe smoking and tea.

Amorpha species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Schinia lucens, which feeds exclusively on the genus.

Amorphol, a rotenoid bioside, can be isolated from plants of the genus Amorpha.

Species

Amorpha comprises the following species: ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Amorpha_fruticosa-flowers.jpg" caption="Flowers of ''[[Amorpha fruticosa]]''"] ::

Species names with uncertain taxonomic status

The status of the following species is unresolved:

  • Amorpha arborea Schkuhr
  • Amorpha californica Nutt.
  • Amorpha coerulea Lodd.
  • Amorpha colorata Raf.
  • Amorpha crocea hort. ex Lavallée
  • Amorpha dealbata hort. ex Lavallée
  • Amorpha discolor Raf.
  • Amorpha elata Hayne
  • Amorpha elatior hort. ex Lavallée
  • Amorpha flexuosa Raf.
  • Amorpha gaertneri K.Koch
  • Amorpha gardneri K.Koch
  • Amorpha glauca Raf.
  • Amorpha incana Engelm.
  • Amorpha laevigata Nutt.
  • Amorpha lewisii Lodd. ex Loudon
  • Amorpha ludoviciana hort. ex Lavallée
  • Amorpha ludwigii K.Koch
  • Amorpha lutea Raf.
  • Amorpha macrophyla Raf.
  • Amorpha marginata hort. ex Lavallée
  • Amorpha mimosifolia Voss
  • Amorpha nana Nutt.
  • Amorpha nonperforata Schkuhr
  • Amorpha ornata Wender.
  • Amorpha pedalis Blanco
  • Amorpha perforata Schkuhr
  • Amorpha rabiae Lex.
  • Amorpha retusa Raf.
  • Amorpha sensitiva Voss
  • Amorpha tenesseensis Schult.
  • Amorpha tomentosa Raf.
  • Amorpha verrucosa Raf.

Hybrids

The following hybrid has been described:

References

References

  1. [https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30017473-2 ''Amorpha'' L.] ''[[Plants of the World Online]]''. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  2. Gledhill D.. (2008). "The Names of Plants". Cambridge University Press.
  3. (1974). "Structure of amorphol—A rotenoid bioside from plants of the genus ''Amorpha''". [[Chemistry of Natural Compounds.
  4. . ["ILDIS LegumeWeb entry for ''Amorpha''"](http://www.ildis.org/LegumeWeb?version~10.01&genus~Amorpha&species~). *Cardiff School of Computer Science & Informatics*.
  5. USDA. "GRIN species records of ''Amorpha''". [[Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center.
  6. (2013). "The Plant List entry for ''Amorpha''". [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]] and the [[Missouri Botanical Garden]].
  7. Some sources treat ''Amorpha crenulata'' as a synonym (variety) of ''Amorpha herbacea''.

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