Blue wild indigo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Blue wild indigo |
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Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Genus: | Baptisia |
| Species: |
B. australis
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| Binomial name | |
| Baptisia australis |
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Baptisia australis, also known as blue wild indigo or blue false indigo, is a beautiful flowering plant. It belongs to the pea family called Fabaceae. This plant is a perennial herb, meaning it lives for more than two years. It grows naturally in central and eastern North America. You can often find it in the Midwest region.
This plant likes to grow wild at the edges of forests, near streams, or in open fields. Sometimes, it's hard for new plants to grow from seeds in its natural home. This is because tiny weevils can get into the seed pods. These weevils reduce the number of good seeds that can sprout.
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What's in a Name?
The name of the plant's group, Baptisia, comes from an Ancient Greek word. This word, bapto, means "to dip" or "to immerse." The second part of its scientific name, australis, is Latin for "southern."
People also call this plant by other common names. These include indigo weed, rattleweed, rattlebush, and horsefly weed. The name "blue false indigo" comes from its historical use. People used it as a substitute for a better dye plant called Indigofera tinctoria.
Plant Description and Life Cycle
Baptisia australis is an herbaceous perennial. This means it has soft stems and lives for many years. It can grow new plants in two ways. It uses seeds (sexual reproduction) and also spreads underground with special stems called rhizomes (asexual reproduction).
The plant grows upright from its underground network of rhizomes. Its roots are deep and branched. This helps the plant survive when there isn't much rain. If you dig them up, the roots look woody and black. They also have small, wart-like bumps called tubercles. The plant branches out a lot about halfway up its stem. The stems are strong and smooth, without hairs. If a stem breaks, it releases a sap that turns dark blue when it touches the air.
This plant can grow quite tall, reaching about 1 to 1.5 metres (3 ft 3 in to 4 ft 11 in) (3 to 5 feet). It can also spread out to be 0.6 to 1 metre (2 ft 0 in to 3 ft 3 in) (2 to 3 feet) wide. Its grey-green leaves have three parts, like a clover. They are arranged alternately along the stem. Each leaflet is wider towards its tip.
Flower spikes appear in early summer. These are short, upright clusters of pea-like flowers at the top of the plant. The flowers can be light blue to deep violet. They bloom from spring to summer, depending on the area. Each flower has both male and female parts and is about 2.5 cm (0.98 in) long.
After the flowers, the plant grows bluish-black, puffy pods. These pods are hard and range from 2.5 to 7.5 cm (0.98 to 3.0 in) long. They are oblong and have a sharp tip. Inside, these pods hold many loose, yellowish-brown, kidney-shaped seeds. Each seed is about 2 mm (0.079 in) in size.
The leaves grow about a month before the flowers appear. They fall off about a month after the seed pods form. Once the seeds are fully grown, the stems turn a silvery-grey color. They then break off from the roots. The pods stay attached to the stems. This allows the wind to blow the stems and pods to new places, helping the seeds spread.
Is it Safe to Eat?
It's important to know that this plant has some natural chemicals that can be mildly harmful if eaten. For example, young shoots have sometimes been confused with edible asparagus, which can cause an upset stomach. The seeds, especially, should not be eaten by anyone, particularly children, as they can be toxic. Always be careful and never eat wild plants unless an adult who knows them well says they are safe.
How it was Named (Taxonomy)
The famous scientist Carl Linnaeus first described Baptisia australis in 1767. He called it Sophora australis back then. Later, in 1811, Robert Brown moved it to a new group, or genus, called Baptisia. This genus was created by Étienne Pierre Ventenat in 1808.
Today, scientists recognize two main types, or varieties, of B. australis:
- Baptisia australis var. australis
- Baptisia australis var. minor
Growing Blue Wild Indigo in Your Garden
Baptisia australis is the most popular type of Baptisia to grow in gardens. It's even grown in places far from North America, like Great Britain. There, it has won an award for being a great garden plant. Gardeners love it for its beautiful deep blue to violet flowers in spring. Its light green leaves are also very attractive. The unique oblong seed pods that appear in late summer add to its charm. In a garden, this plant can spread easily, so it might need some trimming now and then.
This plant grows best in soil that drains well and doesn't have too much lime. It prefers full sun or partial shade. It can reach about 90 to 120 cm (3.0 to 3.9 ft) (3 to 4 feet) tall and spread just as wide. Like other plants in its group, it has a very deep main root. This makes it hard to move once it's planted. It thrives in sunny spots and only needs water when there hasn't been much rain. One small thing to note is that its leaves tend to fall off early in the autumn. You can avoid this by cutting back the dead stems as they dry out. It can survive cold winters in USDA zones 3 through 8. Many people use it as a border plant in their gardens.
While there aren't many common types you can buy, some new hybrid plants have been created. These are crosses involving B. australis. For example, 'Purple Smoke' is a mix with Baptisia alba. The shorter variety, B. australis var. minor, is also sometimes used in gardens. It only grows about 30 to 60 cm (1 to 2 ft) (1 to 2 feet) tall, but its flowers are the same size as the taller variety.
Other Interesting Uses
Several Native American tribes found many uses for this plant. The Cherokees traditionally used it to make a blue dye. European settlers later learned this practice from them. The Cherokees also used parts of the plant, like the roots, to make special teas for upset stomachs or toothaches. The Osage tribe used the plant to make an eyewash. The dried, ripened seed pods were even used by children as rattles!
