Creeping indigo, spicate indigo, trailing indigo
Indigofera hendecaphylla

Family: Fabaceae

What it is like

Indigofera hendecaphylla is a sub-erect shrub let growing about 40 - 100 cm tall. It has creeping stems of up to 2 m long and it roots at the nodes. It can be found in tropical Africa. The plant can be used as a ground cover and green manure. It is used as a cover crop in plantations of rubber, sisal, oil palm, and tea. It is fairly resistant to drought and shade. It has symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria which form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen.

Indigofera hendecaphylla is a SHRUB growing to 0.5 m (1ft 8in) by 0.5 m (1ft 8in) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10. It can fix Nitrogen. It is noted for attracting wildlife. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid and neutral soils and can grow in very acid soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.

Height (m): 0.5

Where it is found

Disturbed grassland; cultivated areas and waste places; at elevations up to 2,700 metres, but most commonly below 700 metres, in Africa.

Tropical Africa - widely distributed, including Madagascar; through tropical Asia to New Guinea.

Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed

Countries/locations it is found in

How it is used

Food

Rating: 0

Medicine

Rating: 0

Other

Rating: 4

Agroforestry Uses: Indigofera hendecaphylla provides a good soil cover and smothers weeds. In tea estates in Sri Lanka it was the most popular green manure and cover crop. In Indonesia and Peninsular Malaysia it is used as a cover crop in rubber, sisal, oil palm and tea plantations; in Africa in coffee plantations. Its maximum effect as a green manure is reached when the cover crop is incorporated in the soil when still green and flowering has started. Green manure crops produce 4.5 - 25 tonnes per hectare of green material. In trials in Indonesia Indigofera hendecaphylla has produced a green matter yield of 3.0 tonnes per hectare 3 months after planting, containing 10 kg nitrogen and 3 kg phosphorus. After 6 months the green matter yield was 18 tonnes, containing 86 kg nitrogen and 21 kg phosphorus. A cover crop of Indigofera hendecaphylla controls erosion effectively on hilly and undulating land even under heavy rainfall, and is considered more effective than Clitoria ternatea. Few weeds, except some grasses, can grow through this cover and, once established, a reduction in weeding costs may be anticipated. Weeds such as Mikania spp. and Convolvulus spp. can cause some trouble. Other Uses: None known

Green manure: Fast-growing plants that can be used to increase the fertility of the soil.

Soil stabilization: Plants that can be grown in places such as sand dunes in order to prevent erosion by wind, water or other agents.

Attracts Wildlife: Plants noted for attracting wildlife

Ground Cover: Ground Cover

Nitrogen Fixer: Plants that fix nitrogen in the soil

How it is grown

Indigofera hendecaphylla is a plant mainly of the tropical lowlands, where it thrives at elevations below 700 metres, though can also be found ascending to about 2,500 metres. It grows best in areas with a mean annual temperature of 16 - 27°c and a mean annual rainfall in the range 600 - 1,500mm, but may also be found in wetter locations receiving up to 4,000mm. In cultivation, the plant is fairly resistant to drought and shade. Under heavy shade however, such as in old rubber plantations, growth is poor. It performs best on clay soils, but grows on various soil types, including sandy soils, with a pH of 5.0 - 7.7. It is tolerant of poor, moderately acid, phosphorus-deficient soils. Soil covers of Indigofera hendecaphylla are notorious for harbouring snakes and leeches. Seedlings develop a strong taproot which assists in loosening the soil. When cuttings are used plant growth remains very low, the cover rarely exceeding 12 cm in height. A fair cover can be formed in 6 months and a continuous even cover in a year from planting. The plants send out trailing stems which, under favourable conditions, may attain a length of 2 metres, producing numerous adventitious roots at the nodes. As the plants mature they become taller and at 2 years of age they are usually about 30 - 40cm tall. Vigorous regrowth occurs at the start of the rainy season. Once established, Indigofera hendecaphylla is self-sowing. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria; these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby. Flowers Summer to Winter. Attracts bees, butterflies or other insects.

Propagating it: Seed - it has a hard seedcoat and may benefit from scarification before sowing in order to speed up and improve germination. This can usually be done by pouring a small amount of nearly boiling water on the seeds (being careful not to cook them!) and then soaking them for 12 - 24 hours in warm water. By this time they should have imbibed moisture and swollen - if they have not, then carefully make a nick in the seedcoat (being careful not to damage the embryo) and soak for a further 12 hours before sowing. To obtain a good distribution of the seed it is mixed with sand or filtered dry soil at a ratio of seed to sand of 1 : 4 before sowing. If planted in rows 60cm apart the seed rate is about 3.3 kg/ha. Stem cuttings. Cuttings of about 20cm long are planted at a spacing of 60cm x 60cm with 5 cuttings per hole.

Best place to grow:

Habit: Shrub

Hardiness: 10-12

Growth: Fast

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: Full shade, semi-shade, no shade

Moisture: Dry, moist

Things to keep in mind

Some strains of this species have leaves and seeds that are highly hepatotoxic. The leaves of Indigofera hendecaphylla, possibly only of tetraploid forms originally from Sri Lanka, contain per 100 g dry matter 0.1 - 0.5 g indospicine (2,7-diamino-7-amino-heptanoic acid) while the seeds contain 0.1 - 2 g. Indospicine is a specific antagonist of arginine, interfering with its synthesis and incorporation into proteins and with the synthesis of DNA. Indospicine is highly toxic to chicken, rabbits, pigs, goats, sheep, cattle and horses. In small doses it causes loss of vitality and abortion in cattle and goats. Indospicine is especially dangerous to horses, which relish plants containing it and eat them preferentially..

Its other names

Local names

creeping indigo, spicate indigo, trailing indigo, añil rastrero - Spanish

Synonyms

Indigofera anceps Vahl ex Poir. Indigofera bolusii N.E.Br. Indigofera endecaphylla Jacq. Indigofera