Schott's indigo bush is a much-branched, somewhat spinescent perennial shrub growing from 3' to 9' tall, with herbage bright green aging to gray and subglabrous to ± minutely strigose.  The leaves are simple to 1-1/4" long and less than 1/8" wide, alternate and gland-dotted.  The 5-15 flowers are in an open 4"-long raceme.  The calyx lobes are shorter than the tube, and the corolla is papilionaceous and bright blue. The fruit is an ovate leguminous pod dotted with red glands.  This indigo bush inhabits sandy washes, slopes and benches below 1000' in the Colorado Desert, and blooms from March to May.  These pictures were taken at the Living Desert in Palm Springs.

Click here for Latin name derivations: 1) Psorothamnus 2) schottii.
Pronunciation: soar-oh-THAM-nus SHOT-ee-eye.
Click here for Botanical Term Meanings.