Indigofera spicata
Indigofera spicata
Safety & Hazards
Reports of toxicity for this species are often confused with the closely related Indigofera hendecaphylla. It is likely that Indigofera hendecaphylla is the more toxic of the two, but this is not clear. Below are the reports on toxicity for the two species. Some strains of this species have leaves and seeds that are highly hepatotoxic[ 310 Title Plant Resources of Southeast Asia Publication Author Website http://proseanet.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia. ]. The leaves of Indigofera hendecaphylla, possibly only of tetraploid forms originally from Sri Lanka, contain per 100 g dry matter 0.1 - 0.5 g indospicine (2,7-diamino-7-amino-heptanoic acid) while the seeds contain 0.1 - 2 g. Indospicine is a specific antagonist of arginine, interfering with its synthesis and incorporation into proteins and with the synthesis of DNA. Indospicine is highly toxic to chicken, rabbits, pigs, goats, sheep, cattle and horses. In small doses it causes loss of vitality and abortion in cattle and goats. Indospicine is especially dangerous to horses, which relish plants containing it and eat them preferentially[ 310 Title Plant Resources of Southeast Asia Publication Author Website http://proseanet.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia. ]..
Botanical Description
Indigofera spicata is a prostrate, herbaceous perennial plant with several stems radiating from a central woody, strongly taprooted, rootstock[ 1093 Title Invasive Species Compendium Publication Author Website http://www.cabi.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An immense resource - in depth information on over 900 species of invasive plants (it also has information on animals, fungi etc). ]. The stems can attain a length of 2 - 3 metres, and may produce roots from the nodes. Plants grow taller as they mature, and after two years are normally 30 - 40cm tall[ 1093 Title Invasive Species Compendium Publication Author Website http://www.cabi.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An immense resource - in depth information on over 900 species of invasive plants (it also has information on animals, fungi etc). ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and source of materials. Indigo, of which this species is a minor source, has a very long history of use as a dye. Because of its fascinating deep blue colour, its great colour fastness to light and the wide range of colours obtained by combining it with other natural dyes, it has been called 'the king of dyes' and no other dye plants have had such a prominent place in as many civilizations as this genus. This species was at one time cultivated for this purpose but, with the advent of synthetic dyes, demand for the plant dropped dramatically[ 1093 Title Invasive Species Compendium Publication Author Website http://www.cabi.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An immense resource - in depth information on over 900 species of invasive plants (it also has information on animals, fungi etc). ]. The plants adaptability to various soil types and usefulness in erosion control, crop cover and green manures has led to its widespread cultivation and use across tropical regions around the world[ 1093 Title Invasive Species Compendium Publication Author Website http://www.cabi.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An immense resource - in depth information on over 900 species of invasive plants (it also has information on animals, fungi etc). ].