Wild white indigo is a herbaceous perennial plant in the pea family (Fabaceae) native to eastern and central United States. The species epithet is Latin and means “white,” referring to the white flowers. This large clump-forming long-lived plant will grow 2-6 feet and up to 4 feet wide. It does not transplant well due to deep roots so choose your sites well. It prefers full sun to light shade in acidic sandy or rocky soil but will tolerate clay soil. It may take young plants up to 3 years to produce flowers. They can be propagated by seed, stem or root cuttings. As with all plants in the pea family, this plant will fix nitrogen in the soil. In spring purple stems appear above the blue-gray foliage with up to 18 inches long spikes of white to cream-colored pea-shaped flowers. They are followed by 1-2 inch seed puffy seed pods that ripen from green to black. The trifoliate foliage stays attractive all season long and turns nearly black in fall. In winter the stems will break off and be blown like tumbleweed if not pruned. Use this plant in the back of the border, as a specimen, in a rain garden, a pollinator/native garden or in naturalized areas. Insects, Diseases, or Other Plant Problems: No significant problems VIDEO Created by Homegrown featuring Mark Weathington , Director of JC Raulston Arboretum More information on Baptisia .
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; Loam (Silt); Sand; Shallow Rocky
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist | Occasionally Dry
Available space
12 inches-3 feet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 2 ft. 0 in. - 6 ft. 0 in. | Width: 2 ft. 0 in. - 4 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Clumping; Erect; Spreading
Texture
Medium
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Blue; Gray/Silver; Green
Leaf type
Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Oblanceolate; Ovate
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf size
1-3 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
The trifoliate compound leaves are blue-green to gray-green in color. Each leaflet is pointed at each end and is ovate to oblanceolate in shape. They are up to 2 inches long and 3/4 inches wide.
Flower color
Blue; Cream/Tan; Gold/Yellow; White
Flower value
Good Dried; Showy
Flower form
Raceme
Flower shape
Irregular; Lipped
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
The flowers appear in clusters on 12-18 inch stems and are pea-shaped flowers in white to cream colors. Blooms in spring May to June
Bloom time
Spring; Summer
Fruit color
Black; Brown/Copper; Green
Fruit type
Legume
Fruit value
Showy
Fruit size
1-3 inches long
Fruit detail
The pod is 1.75-inch long and is green maturing to black. They contain many seeds.
Stem color
Blue; Gray/Silver
Stem detail
The central and side stems are smooth, round and green to purple in color
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
South Eastern U.S.A
Wildlife value
Its flowers are attractive to butterflies and bumble bees. This plant is a larval host plant for Zarucco Duskywing (Erynnis zarucco) and Wild Indigo Duskywing (Erynnis baptisiae).
Attracts
Bees; Butterflies; Pollinators
Host plant for
Zarucco Duskywing (Erynnis zarucco) and Wild Indigo Duskywing (Erynnis baptisiae)