Pronounced (approximate) ah-MOR-fah froo-tih-KOH-sah
Along a river or pond, look for a woody shrub with narrow purple flower spikes. Up close, each spike is dusted with orange dots. Those are the pollen-bearing tips of the stamens.
False Indigo in flower on June 8, 2026. Select the photograph to open the gallery.
Family Fabaceae
Life cycle Deciduous perennial shrub
Blooms Late spring to early summer, often June–July in the Upper Midwest
Height Usually 3–12 feet
Habitat Riverbanks, floodplains, pond margins, and moist woodland edges
Other common names
Indigo Bush, Desert False Indigo
Explore reported observations. Sightings are not a complete range map.
Look along sunny riverbanks, gravel bars, and pond margins. False Indigo tolerates occasional flooding and can form thickets on low ground. In the Upper Midwest, start checking for flowers in June.
The photograph above shows Leadplant (Amorpha canescens). Both shrubs have purple spikes with orange anthers. Leadplant is generally shorter, with smaller, gray-hairy leaflets, and favors dry prairie. False Indigo has larger, greener leaflets and often grows along water.
Look at one flower within the spike. What looks like a tiny tube is a single purple petal curled around the base of ten stamens. Their orange-yellow anthers stick out beyond the petal. Most familiar pea flowers have five petals, making this an unusually good clue to the genus Amorpha.
Follow one leaf back to the twig. The oval leaflets share a single central stalk, with one leaflet at the tip. The leaves attach alternately along the woody stem. Individual leaflets have smooth edges.
False Indigo branches into a broad shrub, sometimes forming a patch as new shoots grow from the roots. After flowering, look for short, slightly curved pods where the flowers were. Each holds one or two seeds.
Field photographs by Brian Woolman. Select a photograph for a closer look.
21 field photographs from June 8, 2026. Select a photograph to enlarge it, or use Load more photos to see the rest.
False Indigo is native to parts of North America, including Wisconsin and Illinois. River corridors are good places to look. It also grows outside its native range.
Documented U.S. occurrences
AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY and the District of Columbia.
These records include native and introduced populations. Sources are listed below.
The sightings map shows records submitted by observers. Gaps can reflect where people have looked.
Flowers offer nectar and pollen to visiting bees. The leaves feed a different visitor, the caterpillar of the Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus). False Indigo is one of the host plants on which this butterfly can develop.