This plant was formerly known by the name Indigofera cylindrica. Botanical investigation in the 1990s found that the name Indigofera cylindrica had been incorrectly applied to this species and that the name was synomous with Indigofera frutescens, which is a quite different plant from the Cedarberg fynbos with bright pink-purple flowers in a lax racemes. The confusion arose because the Cedarberg plant with the purple flowers was named both Indigofera frutescens and I. cylindrica by different botanists. Then the name I.cylindrica was misapplied to our plant by another botanist.  When this was found out, i.e. that both I. frutescens and I.cylindrica rightfully apply to the Cedarberg plant (I.frutescens being the current valid name), our plant was given a new name I.jucunda. Confusion still occurs over the name of this plant and you may find it incorrectly labelled in the nursery trade, as well as in some botanical gardens.

The name Indigofera means 'bearing indigo', Indigo referring to the dye and the Latin fero meaning 'to bear'. Indigo is one of the oldest colouring agents known to man. It is Indigofera tinctoria, a species from the East Indies, that yields the dye Indigo, and has a long history in trade. Indigo is one of the oldest colouring agents known to man. The leaves are the main source of the dye but roots are sometimes also used. It gives a light purple to mauve colour or sometimes dark brown or grey, depending on the dyeing time. Natural indigo was originally produced for commercial use through a complicated process of aerobic fermentation and agitation, followed by heating the precipitated sludge, which was then formed into cakes for shipment.

The species name jucunda is Latin and means 'pleasing'. The misapplied name cylindrica means 'cylindrical' referring to the shape of the seed pods, while frutescens means 'shrubby' or 'bushy'.

Indigofera is a large genus of over 800 species, mostly herbs and undershrubs, with two tree-like species. They are to befound in all tropical and subtropical countries with over 200 speciesin South Africa alone.

Members of the pea family include a wide range of plants including economically important crops such as beans, peas and clover, as well as herbs, shrubs and a few beautiful flowering trees. The characteristic sweet-pea flowers of this family have a large upper petal (the standard), two side petals (wings) and two lower petals that are fused to forma 'keel' enfolding the stamens and pistil.