Indigofera nigromontana shiny pod

The fruit of Indigofera nigromontana is a cylindrical pod not constricted between seeds, thus concealing the number it carries. The dark seam where it will open also shows no notable ridge on the smooth surface. The mottled pod changes colour as it ripens, green making way for purplish and brown.

It is the persistent dry twigs and stem tips among the leaves that earned the plant its Afrikaans common name of doringertjie (thorn pea).

Some of the grey-green leaflets of the trifoliolate leaves have notched tips. Others are rounded or obtusely pointed. All of the hairy leaflets fold in along their midribs (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2010; Le Roux, et al, 2005; iNaturalist).