Assignment/exercise
UniSC Plant Profile - Fabaceae, Indigofera spicata
University of the Sunshine Coast
2024
Appears in UniSC Plant Profiles
Abstract
Originally a native plant of Africa, Madagascar and Yemen but has been recorded as naturalised in QLD (particularly the Moreton Bay region), northern NSW and in Katherine, NT in Australia. Found most often in open areas, scrublands and most commonly as a lawn weed (Wilson, 2008). Indigofera spicata is a small decumbent, perennial herb, growing no taller than 30-40cm (Fern, 2022). It has inflorescence flowers with a pink-red colour and a white basal eye, usually around 3-6cm long (Fern, 2022). The plant itself whilst considered a weed in Australia has a history of being used in Africa for medicinal uses such as treating diarrhoea, ascariasis and stomach aches and it is used as a minor contributing source to the dye known as Indigo (Fern, 2022). The leaves and twigs of the Indigofera spicata don t specifically contain the colour indigo but contain the colourless precursors that are used to produce the dye (Fern, 2022). Indigofera spicata was originally cultivated as a green manure due to its nitrogen-fixing capabilities (Teo, 2020). It has been widely used in Java since 1923 for its nitrogen fixing in plantations for coffee, palm oil, tea and even rubber (Heuz et al., 2016).
Details
- Title
- UniSC Plant Profile - Fabaceae, Indigofera spicata
- Authors
- Georgia Read - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Location
- Latitude: -27.271 Longitude: 152.982; Found around the USC Moreton Bay campus in amongst the grass.
- Publisher
- University of the Sunshine Coast
- Date collected
- 13-Mar-2024
- Date published
- 2024
- Copyright note
- (c) The Author. Reproduced with permission.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991094096402621
- Output Type
- Assignment/exercise; Plant Profile Sheet
- Teaching and Learning
- ENS221; Plant Diversity and Ecology
Metrics
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