Blue Wild Indigo
Encyclopedia
Baptisia australis, commonly known as Blue Wild Indigo or Blue False Indigo, is a herbaceous
perennial in the pea family
. It is native to much of the central and eastern North America
and is particularly common in the Midwest, but it has also been introduced well beyond its natural range. The plant may attain a height of 1.5 meteres (5 ft) and a width of 1 metre (3.2 ft), but most often it is encountered at about 1 metre tall (3.2 ft) with a 0.6 metre spread (2 ft). It is well known in gardens due to its attractive pea-like, deep blue flowers that emerge on spikes in the late spring and early summer. It requires little maintenance and is quite hardy. The seed pods are popular in flower arrangements, which also contribute to its popularity in cultivation. Several American Indian
s tribes made use of the plant for a variety of purposes. The Cherokees used it as a source of blue dye, a practice later copied by European settlers. They also would use the roots in teas as a purgative or to treat tooth aches and nausea, while the Osage
made an eyewash with the plant.
The name of the genus is derived from the Ancient Greek
word bapto, meaning “to dip" or "immerse”, while the specific name australis is Latin
for "southern". Additional common names of this plant exist, such as Indigo Weed, Rattleweed, Rattlebush and Horse Fly Weed. The common name "blue false indigo" is derived from it being used as a substitute for the superior dye producing plant, namely Indigofera tinctoria
. B. australis grows best in lime
free, well-drained stony soil in full sun to part shade. Naturally it can be found growing wild at the borders of woods, along streams or in open meadows. It often has difficulty seeding itself in its native areas due to parasitic weevil
s that enter the seed pods, making the number of viable seeds very low.
B. australis is an herbaceous perennial that reproduces both sexually and asexually by means of its spreading rhizomes. The plants are erect and emerge from the rhizomatic network. The roots themselves are branched and deep, which helps the plant withstand periods of drought. When dug up they are woody and black in colour and show tubercle
s, wart-like projections found on the roots. The plants branch extensively about halfway up. The stems are stour and glabrous, or hairless. If they are broken, a sap will be secreted that turns a dark blue upon contact with the air.
The trifoliate leaves
are a grey-green in colour and are arranged alternately. The leaves are further divided into clover-like leaflet
s that are obovate in shape, or wider towards the apex. Flower spikes appear in June. Emerging at the pinnacle are short, upright terminal raceme
s that have pea
-like flower
s that vary in colour from light blue to deep violet. The flowers, which bloom from April through August depending on the region, are bisexual and are roughly 2.5 cm long (1 inch). The fruit
is a bluish black inflated and hardened pod that ranges from 2.5 to 7.5 cm in length (1 to 3 inches) by 1.25 to 2.5 cm (0.5 to 1 inch). They are oblong in shape and are sharply tipped at the apex. At maturity they will contain many loose seed
s within. The seeds are yellowish brown, kidney shaped and about 2 mm (0.08 inches) in size.The leaves emerge about one month before flowering and are shed approximately one month after the pods form. Once the seeds are fully mature, the stems turn a silverish grey and break off from the roots. The pods stay attached and are blown with the stems to another location.
Baptisia has been used as an antiseptic
, anti-catarrhal, febrifuge,and stimulant
purgative. This plant is said to stimulate immune
responses to infection
, and is used for ear
, nose
and throat
problems, laryngitis
, tonsillitis
, as a wash for mouth ulcer
s, and a douche
for leucorrhea.
Baptisia is considered toxic. Do not use this plant unless under the supervision of a trained qualified practitioner. It is not for long term use and not to be used if pregnant
.
The bark of the root is harvested in autumn. The leaves may be harvested anytime.
Native Americans
used root tea of false blue indigo as an emetic and purgative. A cold tea was given to stop vomiting, a root poultice
used as an anti-inflammatory
, and bits of the root were held in the mouth to treat toothache
s. Baptisia species are being investigated for use as a potential stimulant of the immune system. Trials using the extract of Baptisia to treat typhoid fever
were made in the early 19th century.
The pods are used in dried arrangements. Wild blue indigo will repel flies when kept near farm animals or hung off the tack of a working animal
. The plant is also used in witchcraft
in spells or rituals of protection.
, and it is also cultivated beyond its native continent in other areas such as Great Britain
. It is considered a desirable plant in the garden due to its deep blue to violet spring flowers, the attractive light green compound leaves, and also for the somewhat unusual oblong fruits that emerge in the late summer. They grow to about 90 to 120 cm tall (3 to 4 feet) in height with a similar spread. Like other members of the genus, they have very deep taproots, which makes them quite difficult to move once planted. The plants thrive in full sun and require water only in times of low rainfall. One slightly negative feature it that the leaves tend to drop early in the fall, but this may be avoided by cutting the dead stems as they die back. It is hardy in USDA zones
3 through 8. It is commonly employed as a border plant in gardens. While there are no commonly available cultivars, several hybrids involving B. australis have been created, such as Baptisia 'Purple Smoke', which is a cross with Baptisia alba
. The variety Baptisia australis var. minor in also used occasionally in gardens. It is much shorter at only 30 to 60 cm (1 to 2 feet) in height, but the flowers are equal in size.
Eating seeds may be toxic, especially in children.
Biochemical and pharmacological study of Baptisia australis
Oung-Boran P., Lebreton P., Netien G.
Planta medica 1969 17:4 (301-318)
Herbaceous
A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...
perennial in the pea family
Fabaceae
The Fabaceae or Leguminosae, commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, is a large and economically important family of flowering plants. The group is the third largest land plant family, behind only the Orchidaceae and Asteraceae, with 730 genera and over 19,400 species...
. It is native to much of the central and eastern North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and is particularly common in the Midwest, but it has also been introduced well beyond its natural range. The plant may attain a height of 1.5 meteres (5 ft) and a width of 1 metre (3.2 ft), but most often it is encountered at about 1 metre tall (3.2 ft) with a 0.6 metre spread (2 ft). It is well known in gardens due to its attractive pea-like, deep blue flowers that emerge on spikes in the late spring and early summer. It requires little maintenance and is quite hardy. The seed pods are popular in flower arrangements, which also contribute to its popularity in cultivation. Several American Indian
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
s tribes made use of the plant for a variety of purposes. The Cherokees used it as a source of blue dye, a practice later copied by European settlers. They also would use the roots in teas as a purgative or to treat tooth aches and nausea, while the Osage
Osage Nation
The Osage Nation is a Native American Siouan-language tribe in the United States that originated in the Ohio River valley in present-day Kentucky. After years of war with invading Iroquois, the Osage migrated west of the Mississippi River to their historic lands in present-day Arkansas, Missouri,...
made an eyewash with the plant.
The name of the genus is derived from the Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
word bapto, meaning “to dip" or "immerse”, while the specific name australis is Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
for "southern". Additional common names of this plant exist, such as Indigo Weed, Rattleweed, Rattlebush and Horse Fly Weed. The common name "blue false indigo" is derived from it being used as a substitute for the superior dye producing plant, namely Indigofera tinctoria
Indigofera tinctoria
Indigofera tinctoria bears the common name True indigo. The plant was one of the original sources of indigo dye. It has been naturalized to tropical and temperate Asia, as well as parts of Africa, but its native habitat is unknown since it has been in cultivation worldwide for many centuries. Today...
. B. australis grows best in lime
Lime (mineral)
Lime is a general term for calcium-containing inorganic materials, in which carbonates, oxides and hydroxides predominate. Strictly speaking, lime is calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide. It is also the name for a single mineral of the CaO composition, occurring very rarely...
free, well-drained stony soil in full sun to part shade. Naturally it can be found growing wild at the borders of woods, along streams or in open meadows. It often has difficulty seeding itself in its native areas due to parasitic weevil
Weevil
A weevil is any beetle from the Curculionoidea superfamily. They are usually small, less than , and herbivorous. There are over 60,000 species in several families, mostly in the family Curculionidae...
s that enter the seed pods, making the number of viable seeds very low.
Description
Tubercle
A tubercle is generally a wart-like projection, but it has slightly different meaning depending on which family of plants or animals it is used to refer to....
s, wart-like projections found on the roots. The plants branch extensively about halfway up. The stems are stour and glabrous, or hairless. If they are broken, a sap will be secreted that turns a dark blue upon contact with the air.
The trifoliate leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are a grey-green in colour and are arranged alternately. The leaves are further divided into clover-like leaflet
Leaflet
A leaflet in botany is a part of a compound leaf. A leaflet may resemble an entire leaf, but it is not borne on a stem as a leaf is, but rather on a vein of the whole leaf. Compound leaves are common in many plant families...
s that are obovate in shape, or wider towards the apex. Flower spikes appear in June. Emerging at the pinnacle are short, upright terminal raceme
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
s that have pea
Sweet pea
Sweet pea is a flowering plant in the genus Lathyrus in the family Fabaceae , native to the eastern Mediterranean region from Sicily east to Crete....
-like flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s that vary in colour from light blue to deep violet. The flowers, which bloom from April through August depending on the region, are bisexual and are roughly 2.5 cm long (1 inch). The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
is a bluish black inflated and hardened pod that ranges from 2.5 to 7.5 cm in length (1 to 3 inches) by 1.25 to 2.5 cm (0.5 to 1 inch). They are oblong in shape and are sharply tipped at the apex. At maturity they will contain many loose seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s within. The seeds are yellowish brown, kidney shaped and about 2 mm (0.08 inches) in size.The leaves emerge about one month before flowering and are shed approximately one month after the pods form. Once the seeds are fully mature, the stems turn a silverish grey and break off from the roots. The pods stay attached and are blown with the stems to another location.
Taxonomy
There are three recognised varieties of B. australis, namely:- B. a. var. abberans
- B. a. var. australis
- B. a. var. minor
Uses
Baptisia has been used as an antiseptic
Antiseptic
Antiseptics are antimicrobial substances that are applied to living tissue/skin to reduce the possibility of infection, sepsis, or putrefaction...
, anti-catarrhal, febrifuge,and stimulant
Stimulant
Stimulants are psychoactive drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both. Examples of these kinds of effects may include enhanced alertness, wakefulness, and locomotion, among others...
purgative. This plant is said to stimulate immune
Immune system
An immune system is a system of biological structures and processes within an organism that protects against disease by identifying and killing pathogens and tumor cells. It detects a wide variety of agents, from viruses to parasitic worms, and needs to distinguish them from the organism's own...
responses to infection
Infection
An infection is the colonization of a host organism by parasite species. Infecting parasites seek to use the host's resources to reproduce, often resulting in disease...
, and is used for ear
Ear
The ear is the organ that detects sound. It not only receives sound, but also aids in balance and body position. The ear is part of the auditory system....
, nose
Human nose
The visible part of the human nose is the protruding part of the face that bears the nostrils. The shape of the nose is determined by the ethmoid bone and the nasal septum, which consists mostly of cartilage and which separates the nostrils...
and throat
Throat
In vertebrate anatomy, the throat is the anterior part of the neck, in front of the vertebral column. It consists of the pharynx and larynx...
problems, laryngitis
Laryngitis
Laryngitis is an inflammation of the larynx. It causes hoarse voice or the complete loss of the voice because of irritation to the vocal folds . Dysphonia is the medical term for a vocal disorder, of which laryngitis is one cause....
, tonsillitis
Tonsillitis
Tonsillitis is an inflammation of the tonsils most commonly caused by viral or bacterial infection. Symptoms of tonsillitis include sore throat and fever. While no treatment has been found to shorten the duration of viral tonsillitis, bacterial causes are treatable with antibiotics...
, as a wash for mouth ulcer
Mouth ulcer
A mouth or oral ulcer is an open sore in the mouth, or rarely a break in the mucous membrane or the epithelium on the lips or surrounding the mouth. The types of mouth ulcers are diverse, with a multitude of associated causes including: physical abrasion, acidic fruit, infection, other medical...
s, and a douche
Douche
A douche is a device used to introduce a stream of water into the body for medical or hygienic reasons, or the stream of water itself.Douche usually refers to vaginal irrigation, the rinsing of the vagina, but it can also refer to the rinsing of any body cavity. A douche bag is a piece of...
for leucorrhea.
Baptisia is considered toxic. Do not use this plant unless under the supervision of a trained qualified practitioner. It is not for long term use and not to be used if pregnant
Pregnancy
Pregnancy refers to the fertilization and development of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, in a woman's uterus. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets...
.
The bark of the root is harvested in autumn. The leaves may be harvested anytime.
Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
used root tea of false blue indigo as an emetic and purgative. A cold tea was given to stop vomiting, a root poultice
Poultice
A poultice, also called cataplasm, is a soft moist mass, often heated and medicated, that is spread on cloth over the skin to treat an aching, inflamed, or painful part of the body. It can be used on wounds such as cuts...
used as an anti-inflammatory
Anti-inflammatory
Anti-inflammatory refers to the property of a substance or treatment that reduces inflammation. Anti-inflammatory drugs make up about half of analgesics, remedying pain by reducing inflammation as opposed to opioids, which affect the central nervous system....
, and bits of the root were held in the mouth to treat toothache
Toothache
A toothache, also known as odontalgia or, less frequently, as odontalgy, is an aching pain in or around a tooth.-Causes:* Dental etiology, In most cases toothaches are caused by problems in the tooth or jaw, such as** Dental caries...
s. Baptisia species are being investigated for use as a potential stimulant of the immune system. Trials using the extract of Baptisia to treat typhoid fever
Typhoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known as Typhoid, is a common worldwide bacterial disease, transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, which contain the bacterium Salmonella enterica, serovar Typhi...
were made in the early 19th century.
The pods are used in dried arrangements. Wild blue indigo will repel flies when kept near farm animals or hung off the tack of a working animal
Working animal
A working animal is an animal, usually domesticated, that is kept by humans and trained to perform tasks. They may be close members of the family, such as guide or service dogs, or they may be animals trained strictly to perform a job, such as logging elephants. They may also be used for milk, a...
. The plant is also used in witchcraft
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
in spells or rituals of protection.
Cultivation
B. australis is the most commonly cultivated species in its genus in North AmericaNorth America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, and it is also cultivated beyond its native continent in other areas such as Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. It is considered a desirable plant in the garden due to its deep blue to violet spring flowers, the attractive light green compound leaves, and also for the somewhat unusual oblong fruits that emerge in the late summer. They grow to about 90 to 120 cm tall (3 to 4 feet) in height with a similar spread. Like other members of the genus, they have very deep taproots, which makes them quite difficult to move once planted. The plants thrive in full sun and require water only in times of low rainfall. One slightly negative feature it that the leaves tend to drop early in the fall, but this may be avoided by cutting the dead stems as they die back. It is hardy in USDA zones
Hardiness zone
A hardiness zone is a geographically defined area in which a specific category of plant life is capable of growing, as defined by climatic conditions, including its ability to withstand the minimum temperatures of the zone...
3 through 8. It is commonly employed as a border plant in gardens. While there are no commonly available cultivars, several hybrids involving B. australis have been created, such as Baptisia 'Purple Smoke', which is a cross with Baptisia alba
Baptisia alba
Baptisia alba, commonly called White Wild Indigo or White False Indigo, is a herbaceous plant in the bean family Fabaceae. It is native from central and eastern North America.'...
. The variety Baptisia australis var. minor in also used occasionally in gardens. It is much shorter at only 30 to 60 cm (1 to 2 feet) in height, but the flowers are equal in size.
Eating seeds may be toxic, especially in children.
External links
Biochemical and pharmacological study of Baptisia australis
Oung-Boran P., Lebreton P., Netien G.
Planta medica 1969 17:4 (301-318)