Indigofera jucunda, the river indigo shrub, used to be called I. cylindrica. Confusion still occurs with the name, and the plant is sometimes incorrectly labelled in nurseries and botanical gardens.
Indigofera is a large genus of more than 800 species of mostly herbs and undershrubs. The genus name means ‘bearing indigo’. Indigo is one of the oldest known colouring agents. I. tinctoria, a species originally from the Malay Archipelago, yields the dye ‘indigo’.
A SOUTH AFRICAN PLANT
The species name means ‘pleasing’. The misapplied name means ‘cylindrical’ and refers to the shape of the seed pods.
