Carried by 2 nurseries
View Availability at NurseryData 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.
Shrub
10 ft Tall
6 ft Wide
Winter Deciduous
Pleasant
Purple
Spring, Summer
Containers, Hedge
Partial Shade
Low
Max 1x / month once established
Tolerates cold to 0° F
Fast, Medium
Tolerates sand.
Soil PH: 6.0 - 8.0
For propagating by seed: Fresh seeds, no treatment; scarification may improve germination of stored seeds.
Wooded, shrubby, or open slopes primarily in the Coast Ranges and Transverse Range below 7, 500 ft.
Chaparral, Mixed Evergreen Forest, Northern Oak Woodland, Yellow Pine Forest
Use as an understory for Oaks (Quercus spp.), Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa), Madrone (Arbutus menziesii), Incense Cedar (Calocedrus decurrens), Tanoak (Notholithocarpus densiflorus), Bay Laurel (Umbellularia californica) and other trees. Companion shrubs can include Manzanita (Arctostaphylos spp.), Ceanothus spp., Ocean Spray (Holodiscus discolor), Currant/Gooseberry (Ribes spp.), and Snowberry (Symphoricarpos spp.)
Butterflies and moths supported
5 confirmed and 7 likely
Silver-Spotted Skipper
Epargyreus clarus
Marine Blue
Leptotes marina
Northern Cloudywing
Thorybes pylades
Southern Dogface
Zerene cesonia