Indigofera spicata Forssk., Fabaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  More information needed, score: 6 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Indigofera hendecaphylla Jacq.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: creeping indigo

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Prostrate to weakly ascending perennial herbs; stems 3-7.5 dm long.  Leaflets (3-) 5-11, alternate to subopposite, obovate to oblong-cuneate, sometimes some of them elliptic, 3-30 mm long, 2-12 mm wide, increasing in size toward apex of rachis, strigose, more densely so on lower surface.  Flowers in racemes 5-17 cm long; calyx 2-3 mm long, teeth narrowly deltate, ciliate; corolla salmon, 4-6 mm long.  Pods straight, reflexed, linear, somewhat quadrangular, 15-35 mm long, 2-2.5 mm wide, sparsely strigillose.  Seeds 7-9, pale brown, quadrangular to quadrangular-ellipsoid, 1.3-2 mm long, ca. 1 mm wide"  (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 675-676).

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i, "introduced as a pasture legume, although it appears to be poisonous to cattle, and now naturalized in low elevation, dry, disturbed areas" (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 675-676).  In French Polynesia, "widespread and locally common introduced weedy species" (Welsh, 1998; p. 153). In New Caledonia, "trouvé seulement comme mauvaise herbe peu commune mais aurait été introduit comme fourrage" (MacKee, 1994; p. 85).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Tropical Africa, Madagascar, throughout tropical Asia to Malesia and Australia (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 675-676).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Saipan Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 112)
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Tinian Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 112)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 112)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Huahine Island	introduced invasive	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 153) Voucher cited: Fosberg 61115
French Polynesia Society Islands	Maupiti (Maurua) Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, M.-H. (1987) (p. 36) Voucher cited: Fosberg 64952 (US)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Mopelia (Mapetia, Maupiha‘a, Maupihoa, Mopiha‘a) Atoll	introduced invasive	Sachet, M.-H. (1983) (p. 28) Vouchers cited: Sachet 937 (US), Sachet 938 (US)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island	introduced invasive	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 153) Vouchers cited: Fosberg & Sachet, BRY 26467, BRY 26641
French Polynesia Society Islands	Taha‘a Island		Fosberg, F. R. (1997) (p. 52)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 153) Voucher cited: Florence 2440
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Starr, Forest/Martz, Kim/Loope, Lloyd L. (2002) (p. 20) Voucher cited: Starr & Martz 000409-5 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 675-676) Indigofera hendecaphylla Jacq.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Lāna‘i Island	introduced invasive	Herbst, Derral R./Staples, George W./Imada, Clyde T. (2004) (p. 7) Indigofera hendecaphylla Jacq., voucher cited: C. Imada 2002-41 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 675-676) Indigofera hendecaphylla Jacq.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced invasive	Oppenheimer, Hank L. (2003) (p. 13) Voucher cited: Oppenheimer H70107 (BISH, PTBG)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 675-676) Indigofera hendecaphylla Jacq.
Nauru Nauru Island	Nauru Island	introduced invasive	Thaman, R. R./Fosberg, F. R./Manner, H. I./Hassall, D. C. (1994) (p. 149) Voucher cited: Scully 123N (US)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive	Tassin, Jacques (2005)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 85) Vouchers cited: Sarlin 18, MacKee 28846, Ledroit in MacKee 40410
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced	Sykes, W. R. (1970) (p. 156) Recorded as being tried as a pasture species per Sykes. Voucher cited: CHR 150514

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)

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

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

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

Other Latin names:  Indigofera hendecaphylla Jacq.

References:

Fosberg, F. R. 1997. Preliminary checklist of the flowering plants and ferns of the Society Islands. Ed. by David R. Stoddart. U. Cal. Berkeley.

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, M.-H. 1987. Flora of Maupiti, Society Islands. The Smithsonian Institution. Atoll Research Bulletin 294:1-70.

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

Herbst, Derral R./Staples, George W./Imada, Clyde T. 2004. New Hawaiian plant records for 2002-2003. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2003. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 78:3-12.

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

Oppenheimer, Hank L. 2003. New plant records from Maui and Hawai‘i Counties. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2001-2002. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 73:3-30.

Sachet, M.-H. 1983. Natural history of Mopelia Atoll, Society Islands. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. Atoll Reserch Bulletin 274. 37 pp.

Starr, Forest/Martz, Kim/Loope, Lloyd L. 2002. New plant records from the Hawaiian archipelago. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2000. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 69:16-27.

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.

Tassin, Jacques. 2005. Jacques Tassin (IAC-CIRAD), personal communication.

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. 2009. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).

Welsh, S. L. 1998. Flora Societensis: A summary revision of the flowering plants of the Society Islands. E.P.S. Inc., Orem, Utah. 420 pp.