Herbs, annual or short-lived perennial, pubescent, hairs long, simple, erect, spreading, glandular, intermixed with appressed hairs. Stems ascend­ing and spreading or prostrate, branched, 3–30 dm. Leaves 1.5–4.5 cm; stipules narrowly linear, 2.5–3.5 mm; petiole 1–1.5 cm; stipels of brown hairs; petiolules 0.5 mm; leaflets 5–11, some­times subopposite or alternate proximally, opposite distally, blades elliptic or obovate, 7–14 × 3–4 mm, base cuneate to broadly cuneate, apex broadly acute or obtuse, apiculate, surfaces pubescent, hairs erect, spreading, and appressed. Peduncles 0.7–1.2 cm. Racemes 3–10-flowered, lax, 2.5–3.5 cm. Pedicels 0.5–1 mm. Flowers 2.5–3 mm; calyx 1.5–1.9 mm, lobes subulate; corolla reddish or salmon pink. Legumes brown, spreading, slightly deflexed, or slightly ascend­ing, cylindric, straight, 18–26 mm, papery, pubescent. Seeds 8–12, amber-brown, cuboid. 2n = 16.

Phenology: Flowering year-round.
Habitat: Disturbed areas, roadsides, rocky areas, coastal sand.
Elevation: 0–50 m.

Distribution

• Generated Map
• Legacy Map

Introduced; Fla., Asia, Africa, introduced also in West Indies (Hispaniola, Jamaica), Pacific Islands, Australia.

Discussion

In the flora area, Indigofera colutea is known only from Hillsborough, Manatee, and Polk counties.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.