Help
Add this page to your book
Show book (0 pages)
Suggest pagesBaptisia tinctoria
| Baptisia tinctoria | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Genus: | Baptisia |
| Species: | B. tinctoria |
| Binomial name | |
| Baptisia tinctoria (L.) R.Br. ex Ait.f. |
|
Baptisia tinctoria (common names include yellow false indigo, wild indigo[1] and horseflyweed) is a herbaceous perennial plant in the family Fabaceae. It is native to eastern North America.
[edit] Distribution
Baptisia tinctoria is found throughout the eastern United States, west to Minnesota, and south to Florida.[2] As it is rare in some parts of its range, it is protected by some state authorities: in Kentucky it is threatened; in Maine it is considered endangered.[3] It prefers dry meadow and open woodland environments.[4]
[edit] Description
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 ½ inch long. The flowers are yellow and grow in spikes 1½ to 3 inches long.[5]
The leaves are eaten by some lepidopteran caterpillars, for example the Io moth (Automeris io).
On Martha's Vineyard, the species is a tumbleweed: it grows in a globular form, breaks off at the root in the autumn, and tumbles about.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ a b C. E. Bessey (1886). "The tumble-weed of the west". Botanical Gazette (University of Chicago Press) 11 (2): 41. doi:10.1086/325904. http://books.google.com/?id=_vcEAAAAYAAJ&printsec=titlepage.
- ^ 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
 |
This Faboideae-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
