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western white indigo

cream wild indigo, long-bract wild indigo, plains wild indigo

Habit Herbs to 2 m, glabrous. Herbs to 0.5 m, glabrous or puberulent.
Stems

deflexed in flower.

Leaves

petiolate;

stipules caducous, lanceolate, 2–8 mm;

petiole 5–15 mm;

leaflets 3, blades obovate.

petiolate;

stipules persistent, ovate to lanceolate, 10–30 mm;

petiole 5–14 mm mid stem;

leaflets 3, blades elliptic to oblanceolate or broadly lanceolate to cuneate-obovate.

Racemes

8–20-flowered, terminal, stiffly erect, ebracteate.

8–30-flowered, axillary, ascending to horizontal, secund, bracteate, bracts persistent.

Pedicels

3–10 mm.

10–18 mm.

Flowers

18–25 mm;

calyx 7–8 mm, glabrous;

corolla white, 16–23 mm.

20–25 mm;

calyx 8–12 mm, glabrous or puberulent;

corolla cream or pale yellow, 18–23 mm.

Legumes

black in age, ascending to spreading-pendent, plump, ellipsoid-cylindric, 23–50 × 10–30 mm, smooth.

ascending, ellipsoid-lanceoloid to lanceoloid, 30–45 × 15–20 mm, ± papery, puberulent to glabrate.

Seeds

20–30.

20–50.

2n

= 18.

Baptisia lactea

Baptisia bracteata

Phenology Flowering Apr–May.
Habitat Pine and pine-oak wood­lands, sandy soils.
Elevation 100–300 m. (300–1000 ft.)
Distribution
from USDA
c United States; se United States
from FNA
AL; GA; MA; NC; NJ; SC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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.)

Baptisia bracteata is very similar to B. leucophaea; it has mid stem leaves with longer petioles (5–14 versus 1–4 mm) and shorter flowering pedicels (10–18 versus 25–40 mm).

Baptisia bracteata forms hybrids and backcrosses with B. lactea and perhaps other species with which it might co-occur. No doubt such intermingling accounts for the exceptional variation found in B. bracteata (R. L. Wilbur 1963c).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
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
Source FNA vol. 11. FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Baptisia Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Baptisia
Sibling taxa
B. alba, B. arachnifera, B. australis, B. bracteata, B. calycosa, B. cinerea, B. hirsuta, B. lanceolata, B. lecontei, B. leucophaea, B. megacarpa, B. nuttalliana, B. perfoliata, B. simplicifolia, B. sphaerocarpa, B. tinctoria
B. alba, B. arachnifera, B. australis, B. calycosa, B. cinerea, B. hirsuta, B. lactea, B. lanceolata, B. lecontei, B. leucophaea, B. megacarpa, B. nuttalliana, B. perfoliata, B. simplicifolia, B. sphaerocarpa, B. tinctoria
Subordinate taxa
B. lactea var. lactea, B. lactea var. pendula
Synonyms Dolichos lacteus
Name authority (Rafinesque) Thieret: Sida 3: 446. (1969) Muhlenberg ex Elliott: Sketch. Bot. S. Carolina 1: 469. (1817)
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