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Carolina Indigo

Indigofera caroliniana

Found in longleaf pine sandhills, Florida scrub, maritime forests, other sandy forests and woodlands. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Florida edition What its natural habitat tells you

45
Good

Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 88%

Height
Up to about 5 feet
Light
Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to moist
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
June to August
Fruiting season
July to October

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 49 Florida counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 4

Forests and woodlands

Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain.
Named place / source context. Shown: Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Georgia, a neighboring state.Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain., Unidentified in HFC record, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Sandhills

Dry, deep-sand ridges with longleaf pine and turkey oak, kept open by fire.

Florida scrub

Evergreen scrub oaks, sand pine and rosemary on deep, white, drought-prone sand ridges, burned rarely but intensely; distinct from the longleaf and turkey oak sandhills.

Maritime forests and thickets

Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Florida. Shared habitat, not food. 79 animals.

All wildlife of Florida

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

12CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL

Genus host records with ranges including FL · Indigofera

  • Anticarsia gemmatalisVelvetbean Caterpillar Moth
  • Cecropterus lyciadesHoary Edge
  • Eurema dairaBarred Yellow, Barred Sulphur
  • Gesta zaruccoZarucco Duskywing
  • Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
  • Hemiargus ceraunusCeraunus Blue, Antillean Blue
  • Leptotes cassiusCassius Blue, Tropical Striped Blue
  • Phoebis sennaeCloudless Sulphur
  • Zerene cesoniaSouthern Dogface
  • Dichomeris acuminatus
Show all 12
  • Dichomeris nenia
  • Metephestia simplicula
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
2BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Indigofera

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Fabaceae
Flower color
White or pink
Fruit begins
July
Fruit ends
October

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Conservation status

Florida rankSNR
Global rankG4
FL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

Will it fit your yard?

Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.

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How to check your spot

Sources