Baptisia tinctoria
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| Baptisia tinctoria | ||||||||||||||
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| Baptisia tinctoria (L.) R. Br. ex Ait. f. |
Baptisia tinctoria, commonly called yellow false indigo or horseflyweed, is a herbaceous perennial in the family Fabaceae. It is native to North America.
Yellow false indigo is found throughout the eastern United States, west to Minnesota, and south to Florida.[1] As it is rare in some parts of its range, it is protected by some state authorities: in Kentucky, yellow false indigo is threatened; in Maine, it is considered endangered.[2] It prefers dry meadow and open woodland environments.[3]
The multiple bushy stems of Baptisia tinctoria reach 2 to 3 feet tall. The leaves are silver-green; each is divided into three leaflets about 1/2 inch long. The flowers are yellow and grow in spikes 1 1/2 to 3 inches long.[4]
The leaves are eaten by some lepidopteran caterpillars, for example the Io moth (Automeris io).
[edit] References
- ^ Canby, William. "Notes on Baptisia." Botanical Gazette 4 (1879): 129-132.
- ^ USDA, NRCS. 2007. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 31 May 2007). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.
- ^ "Baptisia tinctoria". Missouri Botanical Garden. http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Plant.asp?Code=J500 (accessed May 24, 2007).
- ^ Crockett, James U. & Allen, Oliver (1977), Wildflower Gardening (1 ed.), Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life Books
