Amorpha
(from a, not, and morphe, form; incomplete formation of the flowers). Bastard Indigo. ORD. Leguminosae. A handsome genus of hardy deciduous shrubs with very graceful impari-pinnate leaves, and many pairs of leaflets, which are full of pellucid dots. Racemes spicate, elongated, usually in fascicles at the tops of the branches; corolla without wings and keel; vexillum or standard ovate, concave. They are well adapted for small shrubberies, requiring a sheltered situation, and thrive well in common garden soil. Increased by layers, or cuttings, taken off at a joint, and planted in a sheltered situation early in autumn; these should be allowed to remain undisturbed till the following autumn. Amorphas produce an abundance of suckers, from which they may be readily propagated.
A. canescens (hoary).* The Lead Plant. fl. dark blue. July. l., leaflets ovate-elliptic, mucronate. h. 3ft. Missouri, 1812. Whole plant clothed with hoary hairs.
A. fruticosa (shrubby).* The False Indigo. fl. very dark bluish purple. June. l., leaflets elliptic-oblong; lower ones distant from the stem. h. 6ft. Carolina, 1724. Shrub glabrous, or a little villous. There are several varieties, having mucronate, emarginate, or narrower leaflets, but all with purple flowers. A host of names, representing the merest forms of A. fruticosa, are to be found in nurserymen's catalogues. Amongst them are: caroliniana, crocea, crocea-lanata, dealbata, fragrans, glabra, herbacea, nana, pubescens, &c. These differ so slightly from the type and from each other, that it is impossible to distinguish them.