False Indigo (Baptisia australis)

How to Identify the False Indigo (Baptisia australis) This is False Indigo, a perennial legume that flowers from mid to late spring. The plant has an erect growth habit and will form a large bush with branched stems. The stems are grayish green in color and are fleshy and hairless. The leaves are trifoliate, with obovate leaflets that have simple margins. They are hairless and bluish green in color and grow alternately along the stem. A small pair of opposite, wing-like leaflets grow from the leaf axils. At the ends of the stems grow tall racemes of flowers that have a distinct shape often found in the pea family. The blooms are usually violet-blue, but can appear in shades of orange, yellow and white. After pollination, they will produce 2 to 3 inch long seed pods which will turn black when mature. False Indigo likes full sun or partial shade, and moist soils. It spreads with the help of underground rhizomes, and is very hardy.

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