Indigofera trifoliata L.

Scientific Description

Erect, herb. Stems terete, not spiny, hairy; pustules or glands absent. Leaves or phylloclades clearly present, compound, alternate, continuous with stem, 25-45 mm long, hairy, with simple hairs, flat with flat margins; margins entire; tubercles absent, pinnately arranged, terminal leaflet present, stalked; pustules or glands absent. Stipules present and persistent to older leaves, 0.5-1 mm long, without glands, ribless. Pedicel present, 1 mm long, hairy. Bracteoles present but early deciduous. Calyx 1.5-3 mm long, not accrescent, hairy, with simple hairs, ribless; pustules or glands absent. Corolla 3.5-4.5 mm long, uniformly coloured, red; claws absent; standard 3-5 mm long, hairy at least in part, not auriculate, wings 3-5 mm long, not auriculate, keel 3-5 mm long, not beaked, not auriculate, hairy at least in part. Stamens ten; filaments united in an open sheath with one free stamen. Ovary stipitate, hairy or glandular. Fruit dehiscent (a pod or follicle), sessile or subsessile, not constricted between the seeds, round in cross-section, not beaked. Flowers in February, March, April and May. Occurs in the Northern Botanical Province, in the Northern Kimberley IBRA regions.