Baptisia alba (White wild indigo)

Baptisia alba (L.) Vent.

White wild indigo, white false indigo

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Rosidae	Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more
Order	Fabales	Legumes (pea and bean families)
Family	Fabaceae	Legume family (peas and beans)
Genus	Baptisia	From Greek baptizein, “to dye,” because members of this genus were used to prepare dye
Species	alba	“White”

About plant names...

White false indigo is a North American native. It is also a popular garden plant, and many cultivars have been created.

Plants: 24-72" (60-182 cm) in height. Young plants have thick, pale, glaucous (blue-green) stems topped with emerging leaf clusters, resembling asparagus.

Leaves: clusters of three (trifoliate): each leaf is ovate or oblanceolate, pointed at both ends, broader toward the tip, 2-6" (5-15 cm) in size, on petioles ¼-½" (6.3-12 mm) long.

Flowers: Pea-like, bilaterally symmetrical, 1" (2.5 cm) in size, and pure white. Flowers appear in spikes (racemes) 12-24" (30-60 cm) high. Flowers appear in April-May.

Fruits: Seed pods are rounded cylinders about ¾" (1.9 cm) long, green, becoming purplish black.

Online References:

Baptisia alba on floridata.com

Baptisia alba at Illinois Wildflowers

Baptisia alba on Discover Life

Baptisia alba at the New England Wild Flower Society

Baptisia alba at the Missouri Botanical Garden

Baptisia alba on Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

Baptisia alba at Minnesota Wildflowers

References:

Clemants, Steven; Gracie, Carol, Wildflowers in the Field and Forest, Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 320

6/15/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts
≈ 18 × 19" (45 × 47 cm)

Baptisia alba description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 May 2020.

6/15/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts
≈ 9 × 12" (23 × 30 cm)

6/15/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts
≈ 7 × 4½" (17 × 11 cm)

6/15/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts
≈ 12 × 17" (29 × 44 cm)

5/15/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts
≈ 11 × 15" (28 × 37 cm)

Range: Zones 5-9:

About this map...