---
title: Creeping Indigo
canonical: https://fernland.com.au/problem-solver/creeping-indigo/
dateModified: 2026-08-07 09:36:24
summary: "Creeping indigo (Indigofera spicata) is a low-growing perennial weed of warm-season turf, nurseries and disturbed landscapes. Identify its creeping stems, compound leaves and pink to reddish-purple flowers, and manage spread early."
type: article
keywords: [Creeping Indigo, Indigofera spicata]
---

# Creeping Indigo

> Creeping indigo (Indigofera spicata) is a low-growing perennial weed of warm-season turf, nurseries and disturbed landscapes. Identify its creeping stems, compound leaves and pink to reddish-purple flowers, and manage spread early.

*Indigofera spicata*

Creeping Indigo is a low-growing, mat-forming perennial legume with a prostrate or trailing growth habit. Stems radiate outward from a central woody rootstock and can extend more than a metre, rooting occasionally at nodes where they contact moist soil. The compound leaves are pinnate, comprising several pairs of small oval to elliptical leaflets, typically greyish-green with fine hairs giving a slightly silvery appearance.

Flowers are small, pea-shaped and pinkish to salmon in colour, borne on short spikes arising from leaf axils. These develop into slender, slightly curved seed pods that split to release numerous small seeds, allowing the plant to spread readily once established. The root system includes a persistent taproot along with lateral roots that anchor the spreading stems, making mature plants difficult to remove by hand or shallow cultivation.

This weed is naturalised across parts of northern and eastern Australia, particularly in Queensland and New South Wales, where it favours warm-season turf, pastures, roadsides and disturbed open ground. It is most active during the warmer months, with vigorous growth and flowering from spring through to autumn, and it tolerates low mowing heights, drought and moderate soil disturbance better than many desirable turf species.

Management relies on an integrated approach because chemical control generally only suppresses rather than eradicates established infestations. Maintaining dense, competitive turf through appropriate fertility, irrigation and mowing height reduces the open niches this weed exploits. Regular monitoring for new incursions, physical removal of isolated plants including the taproot before seed set, and follow-up treatment of regrowth are important, as seed can persist in the soil and re-infest treated areas over successive seasons.

## How to identify

- **Mat-like patches:** low, spreading growth smothers desirable turf grasses, creating uneven, weedy patches that persist despite regular mowing.
- **Foliage check:** look for greyish-green pinnate leaves with multiple small leaflet pairs and a fine, slightly hairy texture.
- **Flower and pod check:** small pink to salmon pea-like flowers on short spikes, followed by slender curved seed pods, confirm identification during warmer months.
- **Root check:** dig up a suspect plant; a central taproot with trailing, occasionally rooting stems is typical of established infestations.
- **Toxicity note:** the plant is known to be toxic to grazing livestock, so paddocks and turf areas accessible to animals should be checked closely if this weed is suspected.
- **Lookalikes:** can be confused with other prostrate legumes such as clovers or medics; Creeping Indigo is distinguished by its pinnate (not trifoliate) leaves, pinkish spiked flowers, and slender curved pods rather than rounded or coiled clover seed heads.

## Registered products we stock

- [Stature 3-Way Broadleaf Turf Herbicide](https://fernland.com.au/stature-3-way-broadleaf-turf-herbicide/) — Colin Campbell Chemicals

## Image credits

- [Photo: Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Indigofera_spicata_kz02.jpg)
- [Photo: Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Indigofera_spicata_kz03.jpg)
- [Photo: Judy Gallagher via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Creeping_Indigo_-_Indigofera_spicata,_Bahia_Honda_State_Park,_Florida,_December_8,_2023_(53386241670).jpg)
- [Photo: Denis Barthel via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Indigofera_spicata_Bioko_2013_1.jpg)