Baptisia cinerea
Baptisia australis
grayhairy wild indigo
blue wild indigo
blackening upon drying, petiolate;
stipules mostly deciduous, lanceolate, 10–30 mm;
petiole 5–14 mm;
leaflets 3, blades oval to broadly oblanceolate.
petiolate;
stipules mostly persistent, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, 3–15 mm;
petiole 4–12 mm;
leaflets 3, blades obovate to oblanceolate.
5–20-flowered, axillary, secund, bracteate, bracts deciduous.
8+-flowered, terminal, bracteate, bracts caducous.
4–8 mm.
5–12 mm.
21–29 mm;
calyx 6–8 mm, glabrous or puberulent;
corolla yellow, 20–28 mm.
22–26 mm;
calyx 8–12 mm, glabrous;
corolla dull violet to deep blue, 20–24 mm.
ascending, ovoid, 20–30 × 6–10 mm, papery to ± woody.
erect to ascending-divergent, ellipsoid-oblong to asymmetric-ovoid, 30–50 × 10–30 mm, leathery becoming brittle, glabrous.
2–4.
20–30.
= 18.
Baptisia cinerea
Baptisia australis
Baptisia cinerea closely resembles B. bracteata; the floral bracts in B. cinerea are deciduous (versus persistent in B. bracteata), pedicels are shorter (4–8 versus 10–18 mm), legumes are smaller (2–3 versus 3–4 cm) with appressed (versus spreading) hairs, and leaflets are larger and readily blacken upon drying.
Baptisia cinerea and B. bracteata are essentially allopatric. Hybrids between B. cinerea and other species of Baptisia have not been reported; occasional hybrids between B. cinerea and others (for example, B. lactea) would not be surprising.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Legumes 10–20 mm wide; stipes 4–8 mm in fruit; ne United States. | var. australis |
1. Legumes much inflated, 20–30 mm wide; stipes 8–12 mm in fruit; Ontario and sc United States. | var. minor |
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
