Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Amorpha californica is a species of flowering plant in the Fabaceae (Legume) family known by the common name California False Indigo. It is native to California, Arizona, and northern Baja California, where it grows in chaparral and woodland habitat. This is a hairy, thornless shrub with leaves made up of spiny, oval-shaped leaflets each tipped with a resin gland. The scattered flower clusters are spike-like racemes of flowers, each flower with a single purple petal and ten protruding stamens. The fruit is a legume pod containing usually a single seed. There are two recognized Varieties: Var. californica is the more common; var. napensis is a rare plant found only in a few counties north of San Francisco. This species is somewhat neater in appearance than its close cousin, Amorpha fruticosa, which is more common in San Diego, Orange and Riverside Counties. The Amorpha genus is host to the California Dogface Butterfly, the official state butterfly. This species is said to be somewhat difficult in cultivation and is more often used in restoration projects.

Plant type

Shrub

Size

10 ft Tall
6 ft Wide

Dormancy

Winter Deciduous

Fragrance

Pleasant

Calscape icon
Color

Purple

Flowering season

Spring, Summer

Special uses

Containers, Hedge

Sun

Partial Shade

Water

Low

Summer irrigation

Max 1x / month once established

Cold tolerance

Tolerates cold to 0° F

Soil drainage

Fast, Medium

Soil description

Tolerates sand.
Soil PH: 6.0 - 8.0

Propagation

For propagating by seed: Fresh seeds, no treatment; scarification may improve germination of stored seeds.

Site type

Wooded, shrubby, or open slopes primarily in the Coast Ranges and Transverse Range below 7, 500 ft.

Plant communities

Chaparral, Mixed Evergreen Forest, Northern Oak Woodland, Yellow Pine Forest

Bats
Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

5 confirmed and 7 likely

Confirmed Likely

Silver-Spotted Skipper

Epargyreus clarus

Marine Blue

Leptotes marina

Northern Cloudywing

Thorybes pylades

Southern Dogface

Zerene cesonia