Asian Indigo

Gebel Elba.

Perennial.

Indigofera rosei Rydberg, sp, nov
Stem erect, shrubby at the base, terete, sparingly strigose, 3-5 dm. high; leaves 3-4 cm. long; stipules subulate, 2-3 mm. long; rachis and petiole sparingly strigose; leaflets 3-5, oval or elliptic, rounded at each end, mucronate, 1-2.5 cm. long, sparingly strigose; racemes 5-10 cm. long, lax; calyx about 3 mm. long, strigose; teeth subulate, a little longer than the tube; corolla purplish, 4 mm long; pod linear, somewhat arched, 3-3.5 cm. long, 1.5 mm. wide, abruptly acute, S-10-seeded.
Type collected near San Juan Capistrano, Zacatecas, August 22, 1897, J . N , Rose 24SO (herb. N. Y. Bot. Garden).
Distribution: Zacatecas to Puebla.

Indigofera laevis Rydberg, sp. nov
A perennial, shrubby below; stem branched, probably 1 in. high; branches straw-colored, sparingly strigose; stipules subulate-setaceous, 3 mm. long; leaves 4-6 cm. long, spreading; rachis and petiole sparingly strigose; leaflets mostly 5, short-petioluled, elliptic or oval, mucronate, rounded at each end, 1.5-3 cm. long, light-green, glabrous above, sparingly strigose beneath; racemes 1-1.5 dm. long, lax; bracts lance-subulate, deciduous, 1-2 mm. long; calyx about 3 mm. long, strigose, the lobes subulate, twice as long as the tube; corolla 4-6 mm. long; pod reflexed, slightly curved, 3-4 cm. long, 2 mm. wide, gradually acuminate at the apex, bluntly 4-angled, sparingly strigose, 8-10-seeded.
Type collected among rocks and bushes in the mountains near Guaymas, Sonora, in 1887, Edward Palmer 296 (Gray Herbarium).

Perennial, Shrubs, Herbs, Vines, twining, climbing, Taproot present, Nodules present, Stems or branches arching, spreading or decumbent, Stems prostrate, trailing, or mat forming, Stems less than 1 m tall, Stems solid, Stems or young twigs sparsely to densely hairy, Stems with 2-branched hairs, dolabriform, Leaves alternate, Leaves petiolate, Stipules inconspicuous, absent, or caducous, Stipules setiform, subulate or acicular, Stipules persistent, Stipules free, Leaves compound, Leaves odd pinnate, Leaf or leaflet margins entire, Leafle ts opposite, Leaflets alternate or subopposite, Leaflets 5-9, Leaves hairy on one or both surfaces, Inflorescences racemes, Inflorescence axillary, Inflorescence or flowers lax, declined or pendulous, Bracts very small, absent or caducous, Flowers zygomorphic, Calyx 5-lobed, Calyx hairy, Petals separate, Corolla papilionaceous, Petals clawed, Petals pinkish to rose, Petals red, Banner petal ovoid or obovate, Wing petals narrow, oblanceolate to oblong, Wing petals auriculate, Wing tips obtuse or rounded, Keel petals auriculate, spurred, or gibbous, Keel abruptly curved, or spirally coiled, Keel tips obtuse or rounded, not beaked, Stamens 9-10, Stamens diadelphous, 9 united, 1 free, Filaments glabrous, Style terete, Fruit a legume, Fruit unilocular, Fruit freely dehiscent, Fruit elongate, straight, Fruit oblong or ellipsoidal, Fruit coriaceous or becoming woody, Fruit exserted from calyx, Fruit inflated or turgid, Fruit internally septate between the seeds, Fruit hairy, Fruit 3-10 seeded, Seeds ovoid to rounded in outline, Seed surface smooth, Seeds olive, brown, or black.