Indigofera heterotricha

Indigofera heterotricha is a perennial herb of the summer rainfall grasslands in the eastern parts of South Africa. It is also found in Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe. The branched, erect stems grow from a suffruticose base, i.e. the lower stem is woody and perennial, while the upper parts are soft and herbaceous. Small bristles are scattered on the branched stems.

The leaves are alternate, compound (pinnate), growing about three to seven pairs of obovate leaflets with a terminal leaflet added at the end. Tiny leaf stipules can just be discerned in the photo at the base of some leaf petioles.

The leaflets are green or blue-green with short, white hairs upon their surfaces; an appropriate common name seen for the plant is hairy indigo. Leaflets are folded in along the midribs. They are nearly sessile, the terminal one more so. The midrib of the leaflet curves slightly downwards near the tip (www.kyffhauser.co.za).