Amorpha canescens Pursh
Leadplant, false indigo, leadplant amorpha, downy indigobush, prairie shoestrings, buffalo bellows
Leadplant is a North American native. The name derives from a grayish sheen on the leaves, due to abundant short dense hairs.
Plants: 1–3′ (30–91 cm) tall, sometimes producing side branches; sometimes upright, sometimes sprawling.
Leaves: Alternate, bipinnate, composed of up to 50 leaflets each, 4–12″ (10–30 cm) long overall. Leaflets are densely hairy, and about ¼ ⨉ ½″ (6.3 mm ⨉ 1.3 cm).
Flowers: Vertical flower spikes 4–8″ (10–20 cm) long are covered with tiny purple flowers with yellow stamens. They appear from July to September.
Fruits: Densely wooly, curved, and about ⅛″ (4.5 mm) long. Seeds are orange-brown, elliptical, with a small beak on one end and about ~1/16″ (2–2.5 mm) long.
Habitats: Well-drained soils of prairies, bluffs, and open woodlands.
Flowerhead of Amorpha canescens, Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota. Photo by Jim Pisarowicz of the National Park Service. 
Online References:
Amorpha brachycarpa Palmer
5/22/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 17 × 12″ (44 × 29 cm) 
7/12/2026 · By Jacquelyn Boyt 
5/22/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 15 × 10″ (39 × 26 cm) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Rosidae | Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more |
| Order | Fabales | Legumes (pea and bean families) |
| Family | Fabaceae | Legume family (peas and beans) |
| Genus | Amorpha | From Greek amophos, “deformed,” referring to the single-petaled flower |
| Species | canescens | Covered with short white or gray hairs |
Amorpha canescens description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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