Fabaceae FAMILY Least Concern

Indigofera trita

Edibility

0/5

Medicinal

2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitShrub

Growth—

Indigofera trita is a very widespread species in the tropics, where it can be found in a range of climates from deserts with less than 430mm of mean annual rainfall, through savannah to tropical monsoon climate^[1]. Found in the wild on cracking clay, rich loamy or sandy soils on open plains or amongst rocks of various types^[1] Indigofera trita behaves as a weed on disturbed ground and is often invasive even in areas within its native distribution range. The species is included in the Global Compendium of Weeds, and it is also listed as invasive in India and as a weedy species in areas of Africa and Australia^[1]. A widespread and very variable species, there are several recognised varieties^[1]. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby^[1].

Propagation

Like many species within the family Fabaceae, once they have been dried for storage the seeds of this species may benefit from scarification before sowing in order to speed up and improve germination. This can usually be done by pouring a small amount of nearly boiling water on the seeds (being careful not to cook them!) and then soaking them for 12 - 24 hours in warm water. By this time they should have imbibed moisture and swollen - if they have not, then carefully make a nick in the seedcoat (being careful not to damage the embryo) and soak for a further 12 hours before sowing^[PFAF]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Indigofera+trita>

Pollinators

Insects

References

[1]Invasive Species Compendium — http://www.cabi.org ↩︎An immense resource - in depth information on over 900 species of invasive plants (it also has information on animals, fungi etc).
[2]Raintree Nutrition - Tropical Plant Database — http://www.rain-tree.com/plants.htm ↩︎Detailed information on the medicinal uses of more than two hundred rainforest plants, mainly from S. America, with basic descriptions of the plants, their other uses etc.
[3]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
[4]Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). — Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. · Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. · 1986 · ISBN - ↩︎Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.
[5]Ethnomedicinal Uses of Plants in the Plains Area of the Tirunelveli-District, Tamilnadu, India — Vanila, D., Ghanthikumar, S. and Manickam, V.S. · 2008 ↩︎
[6]Antioxidant and Hepatoprotective Activity of Ethanolic Extract of Indigofera trita Linn. on CCl4 Induced Hepatotoxic — Raju Sentil Kumar et al · 2008 · ISBN 1816-496X ↩︎
[7]Green Manures and Manuring in the Tropics — Sornay P. De. Translated by Flattely F.W. · John Bale, Sons and Danielsson Ltd.: London · 1916 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎An excellent work on the subject, even if it was written almost 100 years ago. It also includes a section of useful Legumes. Can be downloaded from the Internet.
[PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎