Amorpha fruticosa is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by several common names, including desert false indigo and bastard indigobush. It is found throughout eastern Canada, northern Mexico, and most of the continental United States, but it is probably naturalized in western areas. It is also present as an introduced species in Europe, Asia, and other continents. It is often cultivated as an ornamental plant and some wild populations may be descended from garden escapees.

Flowers

A. fruticosa grows as a glandular, thornless shrub which can reach 5 or 6 meters in height and spread to twice that in width. It is somewhat variable in morphology. The leaves are made up of many hairy, oval-shaped, spine-tipped leaflets. The inflorescence is a spike-shaped raceme of many flowers, each with a single purple petal and ten protruding stamens with yellow anthers. The fruit is a legume pod containing one or two seeds.