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Resources < Wildlife Habitats < Guide to Native Plants of Georgia for Wildlife < Baptisia alba
Baptisias have, for good reason, become one of the most popular native perennials in American gardens. As legumes, they are perfect for adding nutrition back to the depleted soils of the South that have been so heavily farmed and eroded. They are delicate and beautiful plants, holding interest the entire growing season. They begin with soft, succulent foliage, followed by amazing flower spikes, and finally topped off with an array of chubby, inflated, rustling seed pods.
Baptisias are well-adapted to drought and fire, and inhabit large areas of the sandy and wildfire-prone Coastal Plain. Their thick taproots resist transplanting, and although plants are slow to grow from seed they are long-lived. Blue-flowered species of Baptisia were important to Native Americans and early colonists as a source of blue dye.
Fabaceae/Leguminosae (Bean/Legume)
A rounded, upright herbaceous perennial legume. Three leaflets, bright green to pale blue, blacken and die back to the ground in fall, dormant in winter. 6-9” flower racemes appear in mid-spring and last into summer. Pea-like flowers are white, 1” long. Fruits are a ½ to 1” inflated pod, typically green or black/blue, and ripen 4-6 weeks after bloom.
4-5 feet tall by 4 feet wide
Bushy, rounded herbaceous perennial legume
Moderate to fast
Full sun to partial shade
Plants in partial shade may become elongated; pinching back is helpful. Foliage will blacken and die back to the ground in winter and may need to be cut (not pulled up, or you risk uprooting the plant). It prefers a well-drained soil, so be sure to till or hoe the soil before planting in clay (preparation typically not needed for sandy soils).
Assets of White Wild Indigo include its long racemes of white flowers and its leafy, rounded foliage. The pods are also decorative and make interesting rattles that especially delight small children and adults.
White Wild Indigo works well in a sunny native plant garden and fulfills the role of a leafy shrub. Its flowers are best offset by planting it against a wall or taller plants. Lower-growing native wildflowers and grasses are excellent companion plants. Blue False Indigo, which grows taller and has deep blue flowers, also pairs well.
White Wild Indigo is a foliar host plant for the caterpillars of the Indigo Dusky Wing and Zarucco Dusky Wing butterflies. Deer and rabbits feed on the foliage, and as a legume it provides a very nutritious, protein-rich food. Browsing does not hurt the plant, because its energy is mostly underground in the large, tuberous roots.
Native to eastern North America where it favors sandy soils in sandhills, post-oak woods, and flatwoods.
Seed (if fresh, does not require stratification but scarification is helpful); division of the crowns.
Also known as
White False Indigo,
White Baptisia
Text by Kevin Tarner, Georgia Wildlife Federation
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