Summary ³

Baptisia australis, commonly known as blue wild indigo or blue false indigo, is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae (legumes). It is toxic. It is native to much of central and eastern North America and is particularly common in the Midwest, but it has also been introduced well beyond its natural range. Naturally it can be found growing wild at the borders of woods, along streams or in open meadows. It can be difficult to seed itself in native areas because of parasitic weevils that breach the seed pods, which lowers the number of viable seeds.

Description ⁴

Family:
Fabaceae (Pea)

Height:
3 to 4 feet

Leaves:
Green to bluish green with three oval leaflets (0.75-1.5 inches long)

Flower:
Blue or pale blue pea-like flowers (up to 1 inch long) in a spike-like cluster at the top of the stem

Bloom time:
May-June

Nicknames:
Blue False Indigo, Tall Blue Wild Indigo

Habitat:
Meadows, woodland edges

Wildlife Benefits:
Flowers are attractive to bumblebees.

Can I plant this in my garden?
Blue wild indigo makes a great garden plant. It prefers full sun and dry to moderately moist soil conditions.

References:
https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/bl_indigox.htm
https://mastergardener.extension.wisc.edu/article/blue-false-indigo-baptisia-australis/

Range ⁴

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Kingsbrae Garden, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/32598399@N00/2578048757
2. (c) Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District, all rights reserved, uploaded by Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District
3. Adapted by Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baptisia_australis
4. (c) Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNaturalistAU taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• eFloras.org
• Flora of North America (beta)
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• Go Botany
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
• Maryland Biodiversity Project
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• New Zealand Plant Conservation Network
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos
• USDA PLANTS database
• VASCAN by Canadensys
• World Flora Online

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