Blue False Indigo

(Baptisia australis)

 

   

 

Color Photograph: Copyright Nearctica.com, Inc.

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

 

Blue False Indigo (Baptisia australis [L.] R. Br. ex Ait. f.)

Identification: Flowers violet to blue-purple, with a pastel quality, large (about 1 inch), pealike, arranged in an erect spike (raceme). Stem smooth. Leaves large (about 3 inches in length), divided into 3 leaflets. Each leaflet wider at the apex and tapering toward the base. Plant 3 to 5 feet in height.

Distribution: Iowa in the west to New England in the east, southward to Georgia and Texas. Also occurs in the Plains States.

Habitat: False Blue Indigo is a woodland plant.

Flowering period: May to June.

Similar Species: The large size of the violet flowers and the plant in general will usually identify this species.

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