Amorpha


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Amorpha >


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Read about Amorpha in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture 

Amorpha (Greek amorphos, deformed ; the fls. are. destitute of wings and keel). Leguminosae. False Indigo. Ornamental plants grown for their foliage and flowers.

Shrubs, sometimes suffruticose: Lvs. alternate, odd- pinnate, deciduous, with entire small lfts: fls. in dense terminal spikes, small, papilionaceous, but without wings and keel; calyx campanulate with 5 nearly equal teeth or the lower ones longer; standard folded around the stamens; stamens connate at the base, exserted: pod short, indéhiscent, slightly curved, with 1-2 seeds. —Ten to 15 closely related species in N. Amer., south to Mex. Conspectus of all the known species by Schneider in Bot. Gaz. 43:297 (1907).

Amorphas are low or medium- sized shrubs with graceful pinnate foliage and small blue or purple flowers, in dense upright spikes.

Most of the species are hardy as far north as Massachusetts; farther north they must be considered as only half-hardy. They grow well in sunny and somewhat dry situations but A. fruticosa prefers moist soil; they are well adapted for the borders of shrubberies.

Propagation is usually by seeds; also by greenwood cuttings under glass in early summer, or by hardwood cuttings, placed in sheltered situations early in fall and left undisturbed till the following autumn. They may be grown, also, from layers and suckers.

A. californica, Nutt. Allied to A. fruticosa. Only very young branches pubescent: lfts. 11-17, oval to elliptic-oblong, obtuse, broadly cuneate at the base: spikes 2-4, to 12 in. long. Calif.—A. californica. Hook. & Arn.-A. hispidula.—A, caroliniana, Croom (A. glabra, Boynt., not Poir.). Allied to A. fruticosa. Lfts. numerous, elliptic-oblong, about ½ in. long, glabrous: racemes several, 4-8 in. long: pods nearly straight on the back. Summer. N. C. to Fla. —A, glabra, Boynt, not Poir. - A. caroliniana.—A, hispidula, Greene (A. californica. Hook. & Arn., not Nutt.}. Allied to A. fruticosa. Branchlets and petioles with prickly glands and pubescent: lfts. 17-25, ovate to oblong, villous: spikes solitary, to 7 in. long: pods very glandular. Calif.—-A. laevigata, Nutt. Allied to A. fruticosa. Glabrous: lfts. 9-21, remote, elliptic to elliptic-oblong, obtuse or emarginate, cuneate at the base, 1-1¾ in. long.: racemes solitary or several, to 12 in. long: pod straight on the back, very glandular. Spring. Ark., Texas. Var pubescens. Gray (A. texana. Buckl.). More or less pubescent. Texas.—A. microphylla, Pursh (A. nana, Nutt.}. One ft. high: lfts. small, ½ in. long, crowded, glandular beneath: spikes usually single. From Minn, and Iowa west to Rocky Mts.—A. montana, Boynt.-A. glabra.—A. nana, Nutt.-A. microphylla; see also A. fruticosa, var. humilis.—A. paniculata, Torr. & Gray. Shrub, to 12 ft. high; grayish tomentose: lfts. 11-17, ovate-oblong or elliptic-oblong, 1-2 in. long: racemes long and slender, panic ted. Texas.—A. pubescens. , Willd.-A. herbacea.—A.pumila, Michx.-A. herbacea.—A. texana, Buckl. —A. laevigata var. pubescens.—4. virgata. Small. Allied to A. fruticosa. Perennial, 2-6 ft., sparingly branched: lfts. broad, coriaceous: spikes single or few. Southern state.


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