Indigofera heterantha Brandis

Family Description

Trees, shrubs or herbs, sometimes twinging or climbing. Leaves althernate, sometimes simple but usually with few to many leaflets arranged trifoliately, pinnately, bipinnately or digitately; stipules usually present. Flowers zygomorphic and bisexual, or actinomorphic and osmetimes polygamous; infloresence often terminal, axillary or supra axillary. Calyx campanulate or tubular, 5-toothed, the posterior pair of teeth often ± connate. Petals mostly 5 or sometimes fewer, free or some or all connate, equal or unequal. Stamens commonly 10, rarely only 3 or 7 fetile and fully developed sometimes numerous; filaments variously untied, rarely free. Ovary monocarpellate, superior, unilocular or sometimes falsely plurilocular, ovules one or more borne on posterior suture; style simple, filiform or capitate, al. Fryit a pod (legume), valves usually dry rarely fleshy, usually dehiscent along both sutures or breaking transversely into 1-seeded segments, or indehicent. Seeds often pea- or bean-like, rarely conspicuously arrilate.
Leaves simple or with 2 to many leaflets arranged digitately or more commonly, pinnately. Flowers zygomorphic, small or large. Calyx often somewhat unequal, 4-5-toothed, the upper (posterior) 2 ± connate. Petals usually 5, the uppermost (standard) generally longer than the others, the 2 lateral petals (wings) usually parallel to each other and the 2 lowest often partially connate to form the keel to which the wings often adhere. Stamens usually 10, filaments free or more usually variously united: monadelphous with all 10 connate into a tube, or diadelphous where 9 are connate into a split tube and one (posterior) free or more rarely, where the filaments are united in two bundles of 5. Style usually upwardly curved, hooked or sometimes coiled.

Genus Description

Annual herbs or perennial shrubs, sonmetimes trees, usually bearing appressed medifixed, branched hairs. Leaves odd-pinnate, sometimes digitately 3-foliate or simple; stiples sometimes present; stipules small, linear-lanceolate or subulate. Flowers in lax or dense axillary racemes or clusters, bracts mostly small, deciduous. Calyx tube campanulate, teeth 5, usually subequal. Standard broadly elliptic, ovate or suborbicular, wings oblong or obovate, slightly adherent to keel, keel straight or curved, lanceolate or oblanceolate, obtuse at apex with a short spur or pouch on each side near base. Stamens diadelphous. Pods linear or oblong, straight or curved, terete, rarely subglobose, transversely septate between seeds.

Species description

Slendar erect shrub up to 2(-3)m, young growth appressed greyish pubescent. Leaves 1-3cm, leaflets 5-7, obovate or oblanceolate, 5-10 x 3-4mm, obtuse, mucronate, base cuneate, appressed pubescent on both surface; stipules subulate, 1-2mm. Racemes up to 3cm bearing flowers to base of rachis, bracts narrowly lanceolate 1.5mm. Calyx 2-3mm, divided to middle into narrowly lanceolate teeth. Petals pink or purple, standard obovate, 5-8 x 3-5mm, wings and keel 4-5 x 1.5mm. Pods linear, 20-30 x 2.5mm, ± deflexed, appressed pubescent; fruiting pedicles 2-3mm, stout.

Chukha(Chimakhoti), Thimphu, Punakha, Trongsa, Trashigang, upper Kuru chu(Shabling). 1400-2550m.