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.


/> 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.



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