Indigofera spicata.
Creeping or Trailing indigofera is in Family Fabaceae > Subfamily Faboideae.
A common lawn weed it is probably naturalised in Queensland.
The mainly prostrate stems, up to 80 cm long form dense mats.
There can also be erect scrambling stems up to around 50 cm high.
The slightly flattened, ridged stems have sparse branched or ‘T’-shaped hairs lying along the surface.
The alternate leaves, up to 3 or 4 cm long are on a petiole up to 3 mm long.
Most leaves have 5 leaflets followed by 7 with some having up to 11.
The obovate to oblong leaflets have a rounded tip and a wedge-shaped base.
They vary a lot in size with the terminal the largest at up to 3 cm long and 1.5 cm wide.
The upper surfaces have few or no hairs, the lower have dense hairs lying along the surface.
The 2 stipules beside the petiole base may be slightly fused to it.
Membranous and triangular they are up to 1 cm long.
The midrib extends past the sides as a spine.
There may be some hairs on them.
Axillary inflorescences are on a peduncle up to 4 cm long.
The solitary flowers along the midrib are on a pedicel around 1 mm long.
The brown lance-shaped bracts, up to around 4 mm long fall early.
Branched hairs in the inflorescence all lie along the surface.
The 3 mm long calyx has a tubular base with 5 lobes.
The lobes are longer than the tube, often markedly.
The white hairs on the outer surface lie along the surface.
The 5 mm long corolla is a typical pea shape with a large upper standard petal, 2 side or wing petals and 2 partly fused and folded up keel petals at the bottom.
The pink, red or pinkish-orange petals have a few hairs on the narrow or claw bases.
The 10 stamens, up to 4 mm long lie between the keel petals.
The filaments of 9 are fused into a tube that is open along the upper side.
The 10th or upper stamen is free.
The superior ovary has a style that curves up and has a spherical stigma.
The fruit are cylindrical pods around 2 to 4 cm long and 2 mm thick.
They hang down along the midrib and have a curved beak at the tip.
The slightly hairy pods have up to 8 seeds.
The 1.5 mm long seeds are yellow to brown.
J.F.
