Leaf
R. A. Nonenmacher, Wikimedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Blue false indigo
Baptisia australis (L.) R.Br.
Also known as: False indigo, Blue wild indigo
Family: Fabaceae
1 to 1.5 m tall
Perennial for borders, planted for its blue flowering and bluish foliage forming a rounded clump all summer.
Flowering: May – June
Full sun
Hardy to about -30°C
❓ How do you recognise this plant?
Once established, it develops a deep root system that makes it virtually indestructible and practically impossible to divide or move: a single plant can live several decades in the same place.
🍃 Leaves
Compound, trifoliate, glaucous blue-green, borne on erect branched stems forming a rounded clump
🌸 Flowers
Blue-violet, pea-shaped, gathered in long erect racemes reminiscent of lupin
🍎 Fruits
Inflated black pod, decorative, persisting on the plant and used in dried bouquets
🪵 Bark
Not applicable — herbaceous plant
🗺️ Distribution
Native to the eastern United States, grown in Europe as an ornamental perennial
🐝 Value for pollinators
Flowers rich in nectar, much visited by bumblebees able to force open the pea-type flower
✂️ Horticultural uses
Planted in perennial borders, forms a long-lived clump that dislikes being moved once established, pods used in dried bouquets
⚠️ Possible toxicity
All parts mildly toxic if ingested (quinolizidine alkaloids); the young shoots have sometimes been mistaken for wild asparagus, causing poisonings.
🌿 Other Fabaceae to discover
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.
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