(2004), Blue Wild Indigo (PDF), retrieved ^ "Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin".^ The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species, retrieved.Ripened seed pods have been used for children's rattles. They have also used the roots in teas as a purgative or to treat tooth aches and nausea, while the Osage make an eyewash with the plant. The Cherokees traditionally use it as a source of blue dye, a practice later copied by European settlers. Several American Indian tribes have made use of the plant for a variety of purposes. It is much shorter at only 30 to 60 cm (1 to 2 ft) in height, but the flowers are equal in size. minor is also used occasionally in gardens. australis have been created, such as 'Purple Smoke', which is a cross with Baptisia alba. While there are no commonly available cultivars, several hybrids involving B. It is commonly employed as a border plant in gardens. One slightly negative feature it that the leaves tend to drop early in the fall, but this may be avoided by cutting the dead stems as they die back. It thrives in full sun and requires water only in times of low rainfall. Like other members of the genus, it has a very deep taproot, which makes it quite difficult to move once planted. It grows to about 90 to 120 cm (3.0 to 3.9 ft) tall in height with a similar spread. It is considered to be a desirable plant in the garden due to its deep blue to violet spring flowers, the attractive light green compound leaves, and also for the somewhat unusual oblong fruits that emerge in the late summer.īaptisia australis grows best in lime-free, well-drained stony soil in full sun to part shade. Typical pea family flower structure Cultivation īaptisia australis is the most commonly cultivated species in its genus, and is also cultivated beyond its native continent in other areas such as Great Britain, where it has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. There are three recognised varieties of B. The seeds may be toxic, especially for children. Young shoots of the plant have been mistaken for asparagus, which resulted in poisoning. The pods stay attached and are blown with the stems to another location. Once the seeds are fully mature, the stems turn a silverish grey and break off from the roots. The leaves emerge about one month before flowering and are shed approximately one month after the pods form. The seeds are yellowish brown, kidney shaped and about 2 mm (0.079 in) in size. At maturity they will contain many loose seeds within. They are oblong in shape and are sharply tipped at the apex. The fruit is a bluish black inflated and hardened pod that ranges from 2.5 to 7.5 cm (0.98 to 2.95 in) in length by 1.25 to 2.5 cm (0.49 to 0.98 in). The flowers, which bloom from spring to summer depending on the region, are bisexual and are roughly 2.5 cm (0.98 in) long. Emerging at the pinnacle are short, upright terminal racemes with pea-like flowers that vary in colour from light blue to deep violet. The grey-green trifoliate leaves are arranged alternately, and are further divided into clover-like leaflets that are obovate in shape, or wider towards the apex. The plant may attain a height of 1 to 1.5 metres, and a width of 0.6 to 1 metre. Broken stems secrete a sap that turns dark blue on contact with the air. The stems are stour and glabrous, or hairless. The plant branches extensively about halfway up. When dug up they are woody and black in colour and show tubercles, wart-like projections found on the roots. The roots themselves are branched and deep, which helps the plant withstand periods of drought. The plant is erect and emerges from the rhizomatic network. The common name "blue false indigo" is derived from it being used as a substitute for the superior dye-producing plant Indigofera tinctoria.īaptisia australis is an herbaceous perennial that reproduces both sexually and asexually by means of its spreading rhizomes. Additional common names of this plant exist, such as indigo weed, rattleweed, rattlebush and horsefly weed. The name of the genus is derived from the Ancient Greek word bapto, meaning "to dip" or "immerse", while the specific name australis is Latin for "southern". The plant has low toxicity levels for humans. It often has difficulty seeding itself in its native areas due to parasitic weevils that enter the seed pods, making the number of viable seeds very low. Naturally it can be found growing wild at the borders of woods, along streams or in open meadows. It is a perennial herb 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. Baptisia australis, commonly known as blue wild indigo or blue false indigo, is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae (legumes).
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