Baptisia lactea
Baptisia
western white indigo
false indigo, wild indigo
stiffly erect or spreading, glabrous or pubescent.
petiolate;
stipules caducous, lanceolate, 2–8 mm;
petiole 5–15 mm;
leaflets 3, blades obovate.
alternate, odd-pinnate;
stipules present or absent; petiolate, sessile, or subsessile;
leaflets usually 3, rarely 1 or 2, blade margins entire, surfaces glabrous or pubescent.
8–20-flowered, terminal, stiffly erect, ebracteate.
1–30+-flowered, axillary or terminal, racemes;
bracts present or absent, 2, well developed when present;
bracteoles usually absent, distal to middle of pedicel when present.
3–10 mm.
18–25 mm;
calyx 7–8 mm, glabrous;
corolla white, 16–23 mm.
papilionaceous;
calyx campanulate, subactinomorphic, lobes 4;
corolla white, yellow, violet, or blue, petals mostly distinct, keel petals slightly connate;
stamens 10, distinct;
anthers dorsifixed;
ovary distinctly stipitate, glabrous or pubescent.
legumes, stipitate, inflated, suborbicular, lanceoloid, ellipsoid, oblong, ovoid, or cylindric, indehiscent, leathery, glabrous or pubescent.
black in age, ascending to spreading-pendent, plump, ellipsoid-cylindric, 23–50 × 10–30 mm, smooth.
20–30.
2–30+, obovoid to ovoid.
= 9.
Baptisia lactea
Baptisia
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).
Baptisia lactea forms hybrids with B. lanceolata, B. nuttalliana, B. sphaerocarpa (B. × sulphurea Engelmann), and B. tinctoria (B. × deamii Larisey).
Peripheral intergradation between var. lactea and var. pendula occurs (hence their treatment as varieties); they are not known to co-occur at present.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Species 17 (17 in the flora).
Baptisia is monophyletic and most closely related to the North American species of Thermopsis (B. L. Turner 1981; M. G. Mendenhall 1994; Wang H. C. et al. 2006). It is mostly confined to the eastern United States; B. australis var. minor and B. tinctoria barely extend into Canada. Baptisia is perhaps best known for having very distinct species that commonly hybridize, which confounded early botanists. For example, M. M. Larisey (1940) recognized 30 species in Baptisia, most of which are of hybrid origin. D. Isely (1981) provided an excellent account in which 15 species were recognized; in his account of 1998, 16 species were recognized, some with two or more varieties. Turner (2006c) provided detailed occurrence maps for the species and varieties treated here.
D. Isely (1981) provided a detailed summary of the hybridization problems in Baptisia. As documented by R. E. Alston and B. L. Turner (1962) and M. A. Kosnik et al. (1996), anywhere two species of Baptisia are found growing together or in proximity, hybrids and/or their derivatives can be expected.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Legumes 10–15 mm wide; mature stipes about as long as calyces; c United States. | var. lactea |
1. Legumes 15–30 mm wide; mature stipes much longer than calyces; se United States. | var. pendula |
1. Leaflets 1. | → 2 |
2. Herbs pubescent; Brantley and Wayne counties, Georgia. | B. arachnifera |
2. Herbs glabrous; Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina. | → 3 |
3. Leaves not perfoliate. | B. simplicifolia |
3. Leaves perfoliate. | B. perfoliata |
1. Leaflets usually 3 (1 or 2 distally in B. sphaerocarpa). | → 4 |
4. Pedicels bracteolate. | → 5 |
5. Flowers 10–15 mm; calyces 6–7 mm, lobes ± equal to tube. | B. lecontei |
5. Flowers 10–14 mm; calyces 8–13 mm, lobes much longer than tube. | → 6 |
6. Herbs glabrous; ne Florida. | B. calycosa |
6. Herbs pubescent; easternmost Florida Panhandle. | B. hirsuta |
4. Pedicels ebracteolate. | → 7 |
7. Corollas dull violet to deep blue. | B. australis |
7. Corollas white, cream, or yellow. | → 8 |
8. Corollas white, cream, or pale yellow. | → 9 |
9. Legumes cylindric to oblong-lanceoloid, 7–10 mm wide; flowers. | B. alba |
9. Legumes ellipsoid-cylindric or ellipsoid-lanceoloid to lanceoloid, 12–30 mm wide; flowers 18–25 mm. | → 10 |
10. Racemes terminal, stiffly erect, not secund; corollas white. | B. lactea |
10. Racemes axillary, ascending to horizontal, secund; corollas cream or pale yellow. | B. bracteata |
8. Corollas usually yellow (sometimes cream or pale yellow in B. bracteata and B. megacarpa). | → 11 |
11. Legumes suborbicular, woody; leaflets 3 to mid stem, 1 or 2 distally. | B. sphaerocarpa |
11. Legumes ovoid, suborbicular, ellipsoid, lanceoloid, or ellipsoid-lanceoloid, leathery, brittle, papery, or woody; leaflets 3 throughout. | → 12 |
12. Corollas 12–16 mm; legumes 8–15 mm. | B. tinctoria |
12. Corollas (15–)18–28 mm; legumes 8–55 mm. | → 13 |
13. Racemes secund, axillary, 8–30-flowered. | → 14 |
14. Petioles 1–4 mm mid stem; c, n United States. | B. leucophaea |
14. Petioles 5–14 mm mid stem; se United States. | → 15 |
15. Bracts persistent. | B. bracteata |
15. Bracts deciduous. | B. cinerea |
13. Racemes not secund, terminal or axillary, 1–10(–12)-flowered. | → 16 |
16. Mid stem leaves sessile or subsessile; corollas 15–20 mm; sc United States. | B. nuttalliana |
16. Mid stem leaves subsessile or petiolate; corollas 18–25 mm; se United States. | → 17 |
17. Petioles 15–20 mm mid stem; legumes 30–40 × 20–30 mm. | B. megacarpa |
17. Petioles 0.1–12 mm mid stem; legumes 10–25 × 10–12 mm. | B. lanceolata |
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