Baptisia tinctoria (L.) R. Br.

Wild indigo, yellow false indigo, horseflyweed, horseflyw

About plant names...

Yellow false indigo’s scientific name (both Baptisia and tinctoria mean “dye”) derives from its use as an inferior substitute for real indigo, an unrelated plant, for the manufacture of dye. Wild indigo is a native of North America.

Identification: Wild indigo is multiply branched and somewhat unruly, sometimes matted in appearance, 12-36" (30-91 cm) high. In Martha’s Vineyard, MA, it forms a ball-shaped cluster that breaks off when it dries out in the fall and rolls around like tumbleweed. Leaves are alternate, silvery green, in triplets similar to clover. Each leaflet is ¼" (6.3 mm) long. Clusters of yellow, pea-like flowers appear in July.

The individual leaves are similar to those of clover, but the shape of the 3-leaf cluster is characteristic of wild indigo.

Edibility: Poisonous :

Physiological Action—When fresh and taken in a sufficiently large dose Baptisia causes violent vomiting and purging. In poisonous doses there is an acceleration of respiration and reflex activity followed by death from central paralytic asphyxia.^[1]

Online References:

Baptisia tinctoria at the Missouri Botanical Garden

Baptisia tinctoria on www.henriettes-herb.com

Baptisia tinctoria on Wikipedia

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

Baptisia tinctoria at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Baptisia tinctoria on the Connecticut Botanical Society's Connecticut wildflowers site

8/13/2017 · Burges Pond, Westford, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 4 × 3½" (10 × 9.2 cm)

8/4/2009 · Near Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 3½ × 5" (9.3 × 12 cm) ID is uncertain

7/16/2013 · Near North Middlesex High School, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 4" (16 × 10 cm)

8/13/2017 · Burges Pond, Westford, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 3½ × 3½" (9.2 × 9.2 cm)

1/19/2021 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Mass­a­chu­setts

7/16/2013 · Near North Middlesex High School, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 4½" (14 × 11 cm)

5/22/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 9 × 6" (22 × 14 cm)

8/6/2009 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 8 × 5" (19 × 13 cm) ID is uncertain

7/16/2013 · Near North Middlesex High School, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 4" (16 × 10 cm)

7/16/2013 · Near North Middlesex High School, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 3½" (14 × 9.6 cm)

¹From henriettesherbal.com

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

© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.

8/6/2009 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 9 × 6" (22 × 14 cm) ID is uncertain

6/27/2012 · Near North Middlesex High School, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 4½ × 3" (11 × 8.0 cm)

5/22/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 21 × 31" (52 × 78 cm)

6/14/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 9 × 8" (23 × 19 cm) ID is uncertain

8/13/2017 · Burges Pond, Westford, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 7 × 4" (16 × 11 cm)

7/14/2013 · Ball Hill Trail, Leominster State Forest, Leominster, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 9 × 7" (22 × 17 cm)

8/4/2009 · Near Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 4 × 3" (10 × 8.5 cm) ID is uncertain

7/14/2013 · Ball Hill Trail, Leominster State Forest, Leominster, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 5" (15 × 12 cm)

8/30/2010 · Proctor Rd, near 119, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 4½ × 7" (11 × 17 cm)

7/16/2013 · Near North Middlesex High School, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 7 × 4½" (16 × 11 cm)

6/27/2012 · Near North Middlesex High School, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 8 × 5" (19 × 13 cm)

6/27/2012 · Near North Middlesex High School, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 5 × 3½" (13 × 9.2 cm)

Range: Zones 3-9:

About this map...