LEGUMINOSAE 



PULSE FAMILY 



WHITE FALSE INDIGO. LARGE WHITE INDIGO 



Baptisia Icucantha T. & G. 



False Indigo is a name applied to many species of this 

 genus which blacken in drying, showing the presence of a 

 blue dye resembling indigo. Some species contain the dye 

 in quantities suffi- 

 cient for commer- 

 cial use. 



The White False 

 Indigo is a smooth, 

 somewhat fleshy per- 

 ennial 2-4 feet high, 

 with numerous stout 

 branches. It occurs 

 in rich soil along 

 railroads or other 

 waste places and in 

 open woods from 

 Ohio and Ontario to 

 Minnesota, south to 

 Texas and Florida, 

 blooming during June 

 and July. All the leaves are as shown. 



The flowers are white and arranged on lateral branches some- 

 times I foot long. The 2 upper teeth of the tubular calyx are 

 united so that it is only 4-toothed. The reflexed standard, or 

 upper petal, is about the same length as the 2 straight wing 

 petals. The keel petals are also straight and nearly separate. 

 The 10 stamens are distinct and there is i pistil. The many- 

 seeded pod, about three-quarters of an inch long and ellipsoid 

 or nearly cylindrical, is borne on a long stalk in the calyx and is 

 tipped with the stout pointed style. 



The Large-bracted Wild Indigo, Baptisia bracteata (Muhl.) 

 Ell., is occasionally found in Illinois. It is a smaller plant and 

 hairy. The spreading stems bend over and the heavy sprays of 

 showy creamy flowers, blooming in May, often touch the ground. 

 The hoary pods are pointed at both ends. Prairies, from Michigan 

 to Minnesota and south to Texas, are the home of the Large- 

 bracted Wild Indigo, a species which has gotten its common name 

 from the large, leafy and persistent stipules and bracts. 



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