BLUE FALSE INDIGO
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BLUE FALSE INDIGO

Baptisia australis
BEAN FAMILY Fabaceae

Identification

  • Flowering time - May, June
  • Rare - planted in FF Visitor Center garden
  • Blue pea-like flower
  • Leaflets in groups of 3
  • BLUE FALSE INDIGO
  • BLUE FALSE INDIGO
  • BLUE FALSE INDIGO
  • BLUE FALSE INDIGO
Click on each photo thumbnail to enlarge.

This showy perennial flower of the bean family is bright blue when the style protrudes from the “keel” to be pollinated (A). The flowers are arranged on a receme which grows to 4 feet tall (B). The flowers mature from the bottom up and soon wilt after pollination. The ovary then grows rapidly to form a large seed pod (D). The leaves have three spoon-shaped leaflets, each about 2 inches long (E).

Although native to prairie sites in southeastern Nebraska, Baptisia australis does not occur naturally in the Omaha area. It has been seen only in the garden area at the entrance to the Fontenelle Forest Visitors Center where it was planted.  Flowering occurs in May and June.

A similar white-flowered species, Baptisia alba, is native to the area and quite common in the prairie restorations at Neale Woods.

 

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