Carolina wild indigo is a native, herbaceous wildflower perennial in the bean family (Fabaceae). Wild Indigo is native to the woods of the Sandhills or Coastal Plain of southern Viginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia. The species epithet is Latin for "ashen or the color of ash." It refers to the color of the hairs on the leaves. Carolina Wild Indigo grows best in partial shade to full sun, sandy and well-drained soils, and reaches a mature height of 1 to 3 feet by 3 to 4 feet. It is known for being a tough, long-lived plant that tolerates a variety of conditions from drought, poor soil, dry soil, and erosion. Propagation is by stem cuttings or seeds. The plant has a deep taproot making it drought tolerant but difficult to transplant. The attractive yellow flowers appear on a single raceme from April to July that contrasts nicely against light green leaves. The fruit is a black, inflated, stalked pod with several seeds. The plant has widely spreading branches and short, silvery hairs giving it the common name "Grayhairy", as well as turning ashy-gray in the fall and persisting into the winter. Include Carolina wild indigo in a drought-tolerant garden, a native garden, or a pollinator garden. It is not as successful in an ornamental garden. Diseases, Insect Pests, and Other Plant Problems: No known 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.
Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day) | 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
Sand
Soil drainage
Moist | Occasionally Dry
Available space
3 feet-6 feet
NC region
Coastal
Mature size
Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in. | Width: 3 ft. 0 in. - 4 ft. 0 in.
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Erect
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Lanceolate
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf size
1-3 inches long
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Alternate 3-parted leaves, turning black upon drying. Leaves are entire, green, trifoliate, lanceolate and appear to be in groups of 3 at the end of a stem. Veined, not needle-like or scale-like.
Flower color
Gold/Yellow
Flower value
Showy
Flower form
Raceme; Spike
Flower shape
Irregular; Lipped
Flower detail
Yellow flowers bloom from May to June on a raceme, usually solitary.
Bloom time
Spring; Summer
Fruit color
Black
Fruit type
Legume
Fruit detail
Puffy bean pod. Black fruits display from June to August.
Stem color
Green
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
Southern Virginia to southern Georgia
Distribution
Southeastern United States
Wildlife value
This is a host plant for butterfly larvae, including the Wild Indigo Dustywing, and other pollinators.