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Eastern Prairie Blue Wild Indigo

Baptisia aberrans

Found in forests and woodlands; prairies and grasslands; oak savannas and openings. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

83
Keystone

Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 76%

Height
3–6 feet
Spread
1.5–2 feet
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Somewhat dry to moist

Space about 2 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 25 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source

Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Leaves
Deciduous
Bloom
April to May
Fruiting season
June to August

Recorded in 4 Alabama counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 3

Forests and woodlands

Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain.
Named place / source context. Shown: Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Georgia, a neighboring state.Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain., Unidentified in HFC record, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Prairies and grasslands

Grand Prairie, Coosa Valley Prairies, Floyd County
Limestone prairie. Shown: Grand Prairie, Coosa Valley Prairies, Floyd County, Georgia, a neighboring state.Grand Prairie, Coosa Valley Prairies, Floyd County, Alan M. Cressler / U.S. Geological Survey, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Oak savannas and openings

Catoosa Savanna, 11 July 2012
Oak savanna: open-grown oaks over grass. Shown: Catoosa Savanna, Tennessee, a neighboring state.Catoosa Savanna, 11 July 2012, Mason Brock (Masebrock), undated. Public domain. Source record.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 79 animals.

All wildlife of Alabama

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

23CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Baptisia

  • Antheraea polyphemusPolyphemus Moth
  • Automeris ioIo Moth
  • Cabera quadrifasciariaFour-Lined Cabera
  • Callophrys irusThe Hoary Elfin, Bog Elfin?, Frosted Elfin
  • Catocala consorsThe Consort
  • Cecropterus lyciadesHoary Edge
  • Colias eurythemeOrange Sulphur, Alfalfa Butterfly
  • Colias philodiceClouded Sulphur, Clover Butterfly
  • Cupido comyntasEastern Tailed-Blue
  • Dasylophia anguinaBlack-Spotted Prominent
Show all 23
  • Gesta baptisiaeWild Indigo Duskywing, Baptisia Duskywing
  • Gesta zaruccoZarucco Duskywing
  • Grapholita tristriganaThree-Lined Grapholita
  • Hypena scabraGreen Cloverworm Bomolocha, Black Snout
  • Palthis asopialisFaint-Spotted Palthis
  • Papaipema baptisiaeWild Indigo Borer, Indigo Stem Borer
  • Papaipema cataphractaBurdock Border, Potato-Stalk Borer
  • Platynota flavedanaBlack-Shaded Platynota
  • Schinia jaguarinaJaguar Flower Moth
  • Uresiphita reversalisGenista Caterpillar, Genista Cbroom Moth
  • Anacampsis lupinella
  • Pococera baptisiella
  • Sitochroa dasconalis
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
22BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Baptisia

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
1Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Baptisia

  • Megachile melanophaea
Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Baptisia

  • Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Fabaceae
Flower color
Blue or purple
Fruit begins
June
Fruit ends
August
Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Baptisia australis var. aberrans

Conservation status

Alabama rankS1
Global rankG2
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources