Description

Baptisia alba Wild White Indigo, Organically Grown Native Perennial Plugs, Native Wildflowers, Native Pollinator Support Plants

Attractive Flowers:
Average – Dry soil:
Average to moist soil:
Average Wildlife Value:
Beneficial Insects:
Butterflies:
Drought Tolerant:
Drought tolerant:
Dry-Moist Soil:
Full – Part Sun (6+ hours of sun):
Herbaceous plant:
Hummingbirds:
Moist Soil:
Native To Mountain Regions:
Native to Piedmont Regions:
Part Sun – Part Shade :
Perennial:
Pollinator support:
Sandy soil, coarse texture:
Songbirds:
Status not yet determined- :
Threatened / Endangered:
Full Sun:
Botanic Name (s): Baptisia alba

Common Name(s): Wild white indigo, white wild indigo

Mature height :2-4ft

Mature spread:2-4ft

Flower Color:white, cream

Bloom Time:April-July

Fruit:pod

Sun Exposure: Full Sun Part Sun

Soil moisture: Dry Average Moist

Soil Type:

Loamy Soil- mostly silt, sand, some clay

Sandy soil, coarse texture

Native Habitat: Open woods, alluvial thickets, streambanks, floodplains

Notes: Tolerates poor soils, flowers vary showy, shrublike form

Average Wildlife Value: Beneficial Insects Butterflies Hummingbirds Songbirds

FACU- Upland

Native To Mountain Regions

Native to Piedmont Regions

Threatened / Endangered:

Native Perennial/Wildflower

Baptisia alba, commonly called white wild indigo or white false indigo, is a herbaceous plant in the bean family Fabaceae. It is native in central and eastern North America.

This 2-4 ft., mound-shaped perennial holds its white, pea-like flowers in erect clusters. Velvety, trifoliate leaves turn from bluish-gray to black in the fall. A bushy perennial with smooth leaves and white or cream-colored pea flowers in stiffly erect clusters; stem covered with whitish bloom. Clusters of large, black seedpods often remain attached to the naked winter stems.

This showy legume, long known as B. leucantha but now as B. alba, often stands out above surrounding prairie grasses. Many species of this genus contain a blue dye that resembles indigo and becomes noticeable in autumn as the plants dry out and blacken. Large-bracted Wild Indigo (B. bracteata var. leucophaea) has two large stipules at the base of 3-parted leaves, giving the effect of five leaflets rather than three.

Benefit
Use Ornamental: Used in gardens and grasslands.
Warning: This plant has been fatal to cows and can be irritating to humans if ingested. Sensitivity to a toxin varies with a person’s age, weight, physical condition, and individual susceptibility. Children are most vulnerable because of their curiosity and small size. Toxicity can vary in a plant according to season, the plant’s different parts, and its stage of growth; and plants can absorb toxic substances, such as herbicides, pesticides, and pollutants from the water, air, and soil.
Conspicuous Flowers: yes
Interesting Foliage: yes
Value to Beneficial Insects
Special Value to Native Bees
Special Value to Bumble Bees

Baptisia alba Wild White Indigo, Organically Grown Native Perennial Plugs, Native Wildflowers, Native Pollinator Support Plants

See all organically grown native Wildflowers & Pollinator Support Plants