''Indigofera decora'', commonly known as summer wisteria, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of shrub native to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

that has since been introduced to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. A member of the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

'' Indigofera'', its family is Fabaceae and is used primarily for decorative purposes, though it has also been used to make indigo-colored dye. ''I. decora'' is a

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

, spreading shrub. It often grows 1–2.5 feet tall and 3-4 feet wide. It features compound, pinnate leaves up to 8 inches long with 7-13 elliptic, dark green leaflets. In the summer, it produces axillary racemes of light pink or purple pea-like flowers. Each raceme may boast twenty to forty flowers, and the calyxes have broadly triangular lobes. ''I. decora'' is best suited to well-drained, neutral to slightly alkaline soils. It is somewhat heat and drought tolerant, but benefits from afternoon shade in hot, humid environments. It is cold hardy in the US in zones 7–11.

Varieties

There are three recognised varieties of ''Indigofera decora'': * Indigofera decora var. chalara ( Craib) Y.Y.Fang & C.Z.Zheng * Indigofera decora var. cooperi ( Craib) Y.Y.Fang & C.Z.Zheng * Indigofera decora var. ichangensis ( Craib) Y.Y.Fang & C.Z.Zheng

References

External links

* Shrubs decora {{faboideae-stub