Baptisia alba
white wild indigo
Fabaceae (Leguminosae)
Plant Specifics
Form:
flower
Size:
2-5 ft tall by 2-4 ft wide
Life Span:
long-lived perennial
Flower Color:
white
Fruit Color:
green,black
Phenology:
Winter dormant. Flowers March-May.
Noted For:
Showy Flowers
Landscaping
Recommended Uses:
Treat as a small shrub or use as a background plant in a wildflower garden. Can make a nice but tall border plant. Its flowers are more visible if planted against something that gives them contrast such as a dark fence. Assets include its long racemes of white flowers and its leafy, rounded foliage.
Considerations:
Toxic to livestock and humans.
Light:
Full Sun, Part Sun
Moisture Tolerance:
Somewhat moist, no flooding ---- to ---- Very long very dry periods
Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:
Unknown
Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:
Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray
Soil or Other Substrate:
Sand, Clay, Loam
Suitable to Grow In:
8A,8B,9A,9B
Ecology
Wildlife:
Pollinators, Caterpillars, Mammals
Larval host for wild indigo duskywing ( Erynnis baptisiae ) and Zarucco duskywing ( Erynnis zarucco ) butterflies.
Pollinated by bumble bees.
Deer and rabbits browse the foliage, and as a legume it provides nutritious, protein-rich food.
Native Habitats:
Sandhill
