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![Fabaceae: Amorpha canescens](https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/nativeplant/1002/thumbnail.jpg)
Fabaceae: Amorpha canescens
Files
Download Seed: The olive brown seed is 2-2.8 mm long. (57 KB)
Download Seedling: Two month old seedling grown in research greenhouse in early spring. (76 KB)
Download Vegatative: The leaflet bladed are ovate-oblong and there are 13-20 pairs per leave. (77 KB)
Download Flowering: The flowers are arranged in a spikelike raceme. (103 KB)
Download Fruiting: Leadplant produces indehiscent 1-seeded in late August. (55 KB)
Download Flower close-up (3.8 MB)
Download developing fruit (2.1 MB)
Family Name
Fabaceae
Common Name
Leadplant, shoestrings
Native American Name
Lakota: zitka’tacan’
Description
Amorpha canescens is a small perennial deciduous shrub or subshrub, which grows 30 cm to 1.2 m in height from a deep, rhizomatous root system. Main stems are brown and woody with the few branching stems being green to gray-white. The grey-green leaves are alternate odd-pinnate and appear leaden due to their dense hairiness Leaves contain 29-41 leaflets, are subsessile with the petiole 0.5-1.0 mm long. The rachis is 8-13 cm long, the petiole and rachis densely are pubescent with short whitish to gray woolly hairs. Leaflets are 9-17 mm long and 4-8 mm wide, ovate-oblong to elliptical. The margins are entire. The flowers bloom from May to August and have a 5-lobed fused calyx 1.5-2.0 mm long, with free lobes 1.5-2.0 mm long. Corollas are not papilionaceous, forming a bluish-purple tube that is 4-5 mm long and 2.0-2.5 mm wide. Ten stamens are exserted from the tube, the free portion of the filaments 4-5 mm long with bright yellow anthers. The superior ovary is 1.0-1.5 mm long and densely hairy, with the style 2-3 mm long and having a 3-lobed stigma. The fruits are small (3-4mm) modified 1-seeded legumes. This plant can be found growing in well-drained soils of prairies, bluffs, and open woodlands.
Horticulture Notes
Seed Collection: Collect seed in late August
Germination: Scarify and plant in the spring after pretreatment
Vegetative Propagation: Greenwood cutting in the spring or hardwood cuttings in the fall.
Soils: Medium to dry well-drained soils
Light: Full sun to partial shade
Water: Mesic
Notes: Seeds are dormant due to the impervious seed coat. A small chip in the outside (convex portion) of the seed coat will break dormancy. Be careful not to damage the fleshy cotyledons.
![Fabaceae: Amorpha canescens](https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/nativeplant/1002/thumbnail.jpg)
Additional Notes
Amorpha canescens is easily recognized when flowering by its gray hairiness and distinctive inflorescences. Lead plant is an excellent shrub for use in landscaping. I prefer it to Russian sage. It is deep-rooted and very drought tolerant. Starting from seeds requires a couple of years for the roots to grow before the shrub really starts to develop. The flowers are very attractive and attract bees and butterflies. The leaves make a very good tea that is high in antioxidants.