Indigo - profile

Indicative distribution

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Key:

known

predicted

The areas shown in pink and/purple are the sub-regions where the species or community is known or predicted to occur. They may not occur thoughout the sub-region but may be restricted to certain areas. ( click here to see geographic restrictions). The information presented in this map is only indicative and may contain errors and omissions.

Scientific name: Indigofera helmsii

Conservation status in NSW: Endangered

Commonwealth status: Not listed

Profile last updated: 01 Nov 2022

Description

Shrub to about 1 m high, with young stems distinctly square in cross-section with scattered, transparent to black hairs. Leaves up to 5 cm long, composed of 7-11 elliptic leaflets, each 10-20 mm long and 4-9 mm wide. Flowers pea-like and deep pink. Pod cylindrical, 20-30 mm long, sparsely hairy.

Distribution

Rare in NSW, confined to the far north-western plains, but also occurs in the NT, SA and WA. The species has been collected from the Maccullochs Range east of Wilcannia, with two earlier collections from the 1800’s from north-west of Wilcannia. Recently recorded in Mutawintji National Park.

Habitat and ecology

Grows on rocky hills or in rocky creek beds in ranges. In NSW it has been recorded from Acacia woodland and in a dry rocky creekline with open River Red Gum woodland.
Interstate habitats include stony creek beds and hillsides, steep rocky gorges and the saddle of a range. Soils are quartzite or granite-based clay-loams to coarse sands.
Recorded in Mutawintji National Park from a dry sandy and rocky creekline in open valley flat, with pinkish-red coarse sand with rocks and boulders. Vegetation is Eucalyptus camaldulensis tall open woodland with scattered Alectryon oleifolius subsp. canescens, Callitris glaucophylla, Dodonaea viscosa subsp. mucronata and Eremophila serrulata.
Other associated species include Atriplex, Cassinia, Senna, Acacia and Eremophila sp.
Flowering recorded from June to October but mostly in September. Fruiting time is usually September to October.
Indigofera helmsii has been found in the Flinders Ranges of SA growing in a regrowth area following fire disturbance.
Plants have been recorded as occasional and uncommon to abundant, with populations usually localised.

Regional distribution and habitat

Click on a region below to view detailed distribution, habitat and vegetation information.

Broken Hill Complex

Threats

Grazing (goats, rabbits, native herbivores).
Feral goat activity (rocky outcrop habitats suffer the impacts of major grazing and erosion disturbance by goats).
Fragmented habitat.
Lack of regeneration (populations may contain too few plants to maintain genetic integrity and diversity).
Insufficient understanding of distribution.

Recovery strategies

A Saving Our Species conservation project is currently being developed for this species and will be available soon. For information on how you can contribute to this species' recovery, see the Activities to assist this species section below.

Activities to assist this species

Protect existing populations from grazing.
Protect existing populations from feral goats through appropriate fencing or controls.
No further loss of extant populations.
Undertake investigations into regeneration including seed-set, germination and seedling survival.
Survey for new populations

Information sources

Briggs, J.D. and Leigh, J.H. (1996) Rare or Threatened Australian Plants. Revised Edition. (CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne)
Ewart, A.J. and Kerr, L.R. (1926) Contributions to the Flora of Australia, no. 32. Additions to the Flora of the Northern Territory. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria 39: 3-4.
Porteners, M.F. (2003) Vegetation Survey of the Mutawintji Lands (Mutawintji National Park, Historic Site and Nature Reserve). Report to the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. Marianne Porteners Environmental Consulting P/L, Sydney.
Pressey, R.L., Cohn, J.S. and Porter, J.L. (1990) Vascular plants with restricted distributions in the Western Division of New South Wales. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 112: 213-227
Wilson, P.G. (1987) Taxonomic notes on some Australian species of Indigofera (Fabaceae-Faboideae). Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens 10(1): 119-126.
Wilson, P.G. (2002) Indigofera. In Flora of NSW, Vol. 2, G.J. Harden, ed. pp. 566-569. UNSW Press. Kensington, NSW.