Indigofera miniata Ortega var. miniata, coastal indigo, scarlet–pea. Perennial herb, not rosetted, several–stemmed at base, having long shoots often with diverging lateral branch at successive nodes, mostly prostrate on soil; shoots with only cauline leaves, strigose and short–strigose with appressed, 2–armed (T–shaped) hairs.
Stems ± angled and low–ridged, to 1.5 mm diameter, initially with 3 ridges descending from each leaf and principal ridge = stem angles, green, tough, flexible, arms of hairs oriented lengthwise, aging glabrescent.
Leaves helically alternate, odd–1–pinnately compound with 5—8(—9) alternating leaflets (never in pairs), petiolate with pulvinus, with stipules; stipules 2, attached to lower petiole below pulvinus, acuminate–linear to linear, 1.8—6 mm long, lower surface with appressed 2–armed hairs, ± persistent, upper surface glabrous; petiole pulvinus 1 mm long, pale green to green, pubescent, axis above pulvinus shallowly channeled, to 15 mm long; rachis channeled, 5—15 mm long, with appressed, 2–armed hairs; stipels at base of each petiolule, inconspicuous, hairlike and ascending to erect, often crimson, having short hairs; petiolule = pulvinus, 0.6—1 mm long, light green to whitish, with hairs; blades of leaflets obovate to oblanceolate, 7—19 × 2.5—7 mm, terminal leaflet the largest, sometimes folded upward from midrib, tapered at base, entire, obtuse or truncate to rounded with short point at tip, pinnately veined with midrib sunken on upper surface and raised on lower surface, other veins inconspicuous, dull with 2–armed hairs.
Inflorescence raceme, axillary, 10+–flowered, > leaf, bracteate, with appressed, 2–armed hairs, sometimes the arms unequal with the trailing arm shorter; peduncle, to 15 mm long; rachis ± angled with a broad ridge descending from each bractlet 2 internodes, with projecting bractlet bases; bractlet appressed to calyx, ± awl–shaped acuminate–ovate, 2(—3.5) × 0.8 mm, green with colorless basal wings, outer (lower) surface with appressed 2–armed hairs, some hairs along margin scarlet, early–deciduous; pedicel cylindric, at anthesis ca. 0.5 mm long increasing 2× in fruit, green aging crimson with red speckles.
Flower bisexual, bilateral, pealike (papilionaceous), ca. 6.5 mm across; receptacle with nectary around base of ovary; calyx 5–lobed, 4 mm long; tube saucer–shaped appearing webbed, alternating green to lobes and colorless; lobes subequal, 3 lobes on lower side, 2 lobes on upper side widely divergent, acuminate–triangular, ca. 2.5 × 1 mm, green, inner (upper) surface glabrous, outer (lower) surface with 2–armed hairs, several hairs red; petals 5; banner without claw, widely spreading, roundish, ca. 6.5 mm, upper surface brightly colored scarlet to salmon with a pair of cream–colored blotches at base ca. 1 mm across and jagged (darker cells defining blotches), lower (outer) surface densely hairy with appressed, 2–armed hairs; wings 2, glabrous, claws short, green, limbs obovate, ca. 4 × 2.2 mm, scarlet to salmon–rose often with visible veins, basal lobe weakly defined; keel of 2 petals partially fused, not fused or adherent to wings, ca. 6 × 1.5 mm, claws oblong, 1.5 × 0.8 mm, light green to white, rounded at base, glabrous, limbs obovate fused along base from near claw to approaching tip, with pouchlike basal lobe, lower portion of limbs white and upper portion scarlet or light scarlet to salmon–rose, having hairs on edge approaching tip, upper edges short–ciliate base–to–tip; stamens 10, monadelphous (10 fused); filament column straight and cylindric, 4.5—6 × 0.6 mm, light green to whitish, glabrous, free portions of filaments curved upward, 0.8—1.3 mm long, alternating short and longer; anthers dorsifixed, dithecal, 0.6—0.8 mm long, light yellow, with short point at top, longitudinally dehiscent; pollen light yellow; pistil 1, 8—8.5 mm long; ovary superior, ± cylindric, 2.3—2.5 ×0.35 mm, green, minutely hairy later densely covered with 2–armed hairs, 1–chambered with to 7 ovules on upper side; style straight through stamen column at end sharply curved upward 90° touching stigma to anthers, light green, with 2–armed hairs on upper side below bend; stigma terminal, capitate, green, with minute hairs at base of stigma.
Fruit pod (legume) not stalked, widely spreading from rachis, dehiscent, 2–valved, 5—7–seeded, 4–sided, with furrow on each face and having cross ridges, 23—27 × ± 3 mm, light brown, with appressed 2–armed hairs.
Seed rectangular in outline, truncate at end, 2.4—2.9 × 1.6 mm, amber brown with black (purple–red) spots and dots; seed coat extremely hard.
A. C. Gibson