White Wild Indigo
Baptisia alba
Summary 5
Baptisia alba, commonly called white wild indigo or white false indigo, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the bean family Fabaceae. It is native in central and eastern North America and is typically found in open woodland areas and prairies with tall grasslands.
Description 6
Family:
Fabaceae (Pea)
Height:
2 to 4 feet
Leaves:
Leaves are compound in groups of three, on a short stalk. Leaflets are 1 to 2 inches long, ½ to 1 inch wide, toothless, hairless, oblong, rounded at the tip, tapered at the base, and blacken with age.
Flower:
Loose spike-like racemes up to 18 inches long of pea-shaped flowers at the ends of branching stems. Flowers are ¾ to 1 inch long, white with a purple splotch at base of upper petal (standard); petals are positioned forward, the upper standard deeply lobed in the middle, folded up and back on the sides.
Bloom time:
May - July
Habitat:
Sun; dry to average moisture, prairies, savannas, open woods
Wildlife Benefits:
This plant is popular with bumblebees who pollinate the flowers, while caterpillars, butterflies, and moths feed on the foliage.
Can I plant this in my garden?
Yes! White wild indigo is very beneficial to pollinators and insects and has a place in backyard gardens. White wild indigo may be planted in full or partial sun and in medium-wet to dry soils.
References:
https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/white-wild-indigo
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baptisia_alba
Range 6
Sources and Credits
- (c) Elaine Wolshock/Matthew Fook, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Elaine Wolshock/Matthew Fook
- no rights reserved, uploaded by John Kees
- (c) eknuth, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by eknuth
- (c) Jeff Skrentny, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Jeff Skrentny
- 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_alba
- (c) Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
More Info
- iNat 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
- SEINet Symbiota portals
- Tropicos
- USDA PLANTS database
- VASCAN by Canadensys
- World Flora Online
