Amorpha
AMORPHA CANESCENS.--Lead Plant. Missouri, 1812. This is of much
smaller growth than A. fruticosa, with neat pinnate foliage, whitened
with hoary down, and bearing panicles of bluish-purple flowers, with
conspicuous orange anthers. It is a charming shrub, and all the more
valuable as it flowers at the end of summer, when few hardy plants are
in bloom. To grow it satisfactorily a dry, sandy soil is a necessity.
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A. FRUTICOSA.--False Indigo. Carolina, 1724. This is a fast growing
shrub of fully 6 feet high, of loose, upright habit, and with pretty
pinnate leaves. The flowers are borne in densely packed spikes, and
are of a purplish tint with bright yellow protruding anthers and
produced at the end of summer. It prefers a dry, warm soil of a sandy
or chalky nature, and may readily be increased from cuttings or
suckers, the latter being freely produced. Hard cutting back when full
size has been attained would seem to throw fresh vigour into the
Amorpha, and the flowering is greatly enhanced by such a mode of
treatment. A native of Carolina, and perfectly hardy in most parts of
the country. Of this species there are several varieties, amongst
others, A. fruticosa nana, a dwarf, twiggy plant; A. fruticosa
dealbata, with lighter green foliage than the type; and others
differing only in the size and width of the leaves.