Indigofera hirsuta L., Fabaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results: 

Reject, score: 8 (Go to the risk assessment (Australia))
Reject, score: 13 (Go to the risk assessment (U.S. (Florida)))

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: ying mao mu lan

English: hairy indigo, hirsute indigo, rough hairy indigo

Habit:  shrub

Description:  "Shrubs or shrublets, erect, 30-100 cm tall. Stems rufous, with spreading rust-colored basifixed extremely asymmetrically 2-branched trichomes looking like simple trichomes. Stipules narrowly triangular, 1-1.2 cm. Leaves 2.5-10 cm, 5-9-foliolate; petiole and rachis adaxially grooved, with spreading rust-colored basifixed trichomes; petioles 0.8-1.2 cm; stipels 1-2 mm; petiolules 1.5-2 mm; leaflet blades opposite, elliptic to obovate, 1.5-3.5 x 0.7-2 cm, both surfaces with dense spreading gray basifixed trichomes, midvein abaxially prominent, secondary veins 4-6 on each side of midvein, base cuneate, apex rounded and with a ca. 0.2 mm mucro. Racemes 10-20 cm, densely flowered; bracts linear-triangular, ca. 4 mm, caducous. Pedicel ca. 2 mm, deflexed after flowering. Calyx 4-6 mm, with spreading gray basifixed trichomes; tube ca. 1 mm; teeth setaceous, 3-5 x as long as tube. Corolla red; standard with white blotches at base, obovate-elliptic, 4-5 x 3-4 mm, outside hairy; wings 4-5 x 1.2-1.5 mm, glabrous, apical margin hairy; keel white with a red tip, 4-5 x 1.2-2.5 mm, glabrous, apical margin hairy, spur ca. 0.7 mm. Stamens 3-4.5 mm; anthers ovoid. Ovary hairy, with 6-9 ovules. Legume cylindric, straight, round in cross section, 1.5-2 cm x 2-2.5 mm, with spreading trichomes; endocarp black blotched. Seeds 6-9 per legume, brown, cubic"  (Flora of China online).

"Low spreading plant, woody at the base, shoots with dark brown, spreading hairs.  Leaves odd-pinnate, leaflets 5 or 7, silky-white tomentose below, elliptic-obovate, larger terminal one to just over 2 cm long. Racemes dense; peduncle, pedicels, and calyx brown pubescent.  Corolla small, salmon-red.  Pod cylindrical, ca 1.5 cm long, with spreading dark brown hairs.  Seeds nearly square or rectangular in outline." (Sykes, 1970; p. 156).

Habitat/ecology:  "Indigofera hirsuta occurs as a weed in cultivated and waste areas, in grassland, savanna, dry and deciduous forest, on river banks and beaches, at 0-1500 m altitude.  It requires an annual rainfall of 900-2500 mm and an annual mean temperature of 15-28*C.  It does not tolerate frost.  A dry season stimulates flowering and seed production.  Although generally fairly tolerant to shade, growth under heavy shade in an established stand of pine trees in Costa Rica was poor.  Hairy indigo is tolerant to poor soil conditions, growing well on moderately poor, sandy soils with low pH, and on slopes.  It requires moderately to well-drained soils with a pH of 5-8 and is intolerant of waterlogging"  (Hanum &Van der Maesen, 1997; p. 160).

In Niue, "a casual adventive that was persisting in an old pasture.  It was flowering and seeding prolifically where the ground cover was fairly light" (Sykes, 1970; p. 156).  "Uncommon in waste places" (Whistler, 1988; p. 25).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Africa and Madagascar to southern Asia and eastward to northern Australia, now widely introduced and naturalized elsewhere" (Smith, 1985; p. 184).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
American Samoa Tutuila Islands	Tutuila Island		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 93)
American Samoa Tutuila Islands	Tutuila Island		Whistler, W. A. (1988) (p. 25) Uncommon per Whistler. Voucher cited: Whistler 2969
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (p. 184) Vouchers cited: DA 9562, DA 9669 (FDA 13250)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Bora Bora Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Voucher cited: J. Florence 12030 (PAP) Adventice
Nauru Nauru Island	Nauru Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 112)
Nauru Nauru Island	Nauru Island	introduced invasive	Thaman, R. R./Fosberg, F. R./Manner, H. I./Hassall, D. C. (1994) (p. 149) Vouchers cited: Fosberg 58614 (US), Fosberg 58730 (US), Thaman & Manner 136 (SUVA), Swarbrick 9545 (BRIU)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 85) Voucher cited: Pancher s.n.
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced cultivated	Sykes, W. R. (1970) (p. 156) Persisting from cultivation per Sykes. Voucher cited: CHR 150553
Palau Palau (main island group)	Babeldaob Island	eradicated invasive	Miles, Joel (year unknown) Eradication program underway as of June, 2007.
Palau Palau (main island group)	Babeldaob Island	eradicated	Space, James C./Lorence, David H./LaRosa, Anne Marie (2009) (p. 9)
Papua New Guinea Bismarck Archipelago	Bismarck Archipelago	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
Papua New Guinea Bismarck Archipelago	Bismarck Archipelago		Peekel, P. G. [translated by E. E. Henty] (1984) (p. 231) In grassland and at roadsides.
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	introduced invasive	Merrill, Elmer D. (1923) (p. 275) In waste places in and about towns; an introduced weed.

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
Cambodia Cambodia	Cambodia (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) "Open slopes, trailsides, grasslands near rivers, sandy ground near seashores; below 100 m".
China China	Hong Kong	native	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 147)
Colombia Colombia	Colombia (Republic of)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (pp. 191-192)
Costa Rica Costa Rica	Costa Rica (Republic of)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
El Salvador El Salvador	El Salvador (Republic of)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
Guatemala Guatemala	Guatemala (Republic of)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Indonesia Indonesia	West Papua Province (Indonesia) (western New Guinea Island) (formerly Irian Jaya)	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
Perú Perú	Perú (Republic of)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced invasive	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 50) Naturalised
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island	native	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) "Open slopes, trailsides, grasslands near rivers, sandy ground near seashores; below 100 m".
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia (Indian Ocean offshore islands) Christmas Island Group	Christmas Island	native	Orchard, Anthony E., ed. (1993) (p. 18)
Australia (Indian Ocean offshore islands) Cocos (Keeling) Islands	Cocos (Keeling) Islands	native	Orchard, Anthony E., ed. (1993) (p. 37)
British Indian Ocean Territory Chagos Archipelago	Diego Garcia Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Rivers, Julie (2004) (pp. 4, 7)
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
French Territory of Mayotte Mayotte Islands	Mayotte Island	introduced invasive	Comité français de l'Union Internationale pour la Conservation de la Nature en France (2010) Envahissant principalement dans les milieux perturbés.

Additional information:
Additional online information about Indigofera hirsuta is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Indigofera hirsuta as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Indigofera hirsuta may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. 2009. A checklist of the total vascular plant flora of Singapore: native, naturalised and cultivated species. Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore. 273 pp.

Comité français de l'Union Internationale pour la Conservation de la Nature en France. 2010. Les espéces envahissantes en outre-mer (online resource).

Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. 2011. Base de données botaniques Nadeaud de l'Herbier de la Polynésie Française (PAP). (online resource).

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1979. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian dicotyledonae. Micronesica 15:1-295.

Hanum/I. Faridah/Van der Maesen, L.J.G, eds. 1997. PROSEA : Plant resources of south-east Asia 11, auxiliary plants. LIPI Press, Jakarta, Indonesia. 385 pp. ISBN 979-799-093-1.

Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 391 pp.

ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre. 2011. International Legume Database & Information Service. Online searchable database.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Merrill, Elmer D. 1923. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants, vol. 2 [reprint]. Bureau of Printing, Manila. 530 pp.

Miles, Joel. 0. Joel Miles, pers. com.

Orchard, Anthony E., ed. 1993. Flora of Australia. Vol. 50, Oceanic islands 2. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.

Peekel, P. G. [translated by E. E. Henty]. 1984. Flora of the Bismarck Archipelago for naturalists. Office of Forests, Division of Botany, Lae, Papua New Guinea. 638 pp. ISBN 9980-66-000-7.

Rivers, Julie. 2004. Botanical survey update of Diego Garcia, Chagos Archipeligo, British Indian Ocean Territory. Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pacific. 16 pp. plus "List of the higher plants of Diego Garcia".

Smith, Albert C. 1985. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 3. 758 pp.

Space, James C./Lorence, David H./LaRosa, Anne Marie. 2009. Report to the Republic of Palau: 2008 update on Invasive Plant Species. USDA Forest Service, Hilo, Hawai‘i. 227 pp.

Swarbrick, John T. 1997. Weeds of the Pacific Islands. Technical paper no. 209. South Pacific Commission, Noumea, New Caledonia. 124 pp.

Sykes, W. R. 1970. Contributions to the flora of Niue. New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Bulletin 200, Wellington. 321 pp.

Thaman, R. R./Fosberg, F. R./Manner, H. I./Hassall, D. C. 1994. The flora of Nauru. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. Atoll Research Bulletin 392:1-223.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Whistler, W. A. 1988. Checklist of the weed flora of western Polynesia. Technical Paper No. 194, South Pacific Commission, Noumea, New Caledonia. 69 pp.

Wu, Te-lin. 2001. Check List of Hong Kong Plants. Hong Kong Herbarium and the South China Institute of Botany. Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department Bulletin 1 (revised). 384 pp.

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).