Quercus

Tall Blue Wild Indigo

Baptisia australis

Native to Kentucky (estimated)

Blue pea-shaped flowers rise above a broad clump of blue-green foliage.

Care

  • Choose a lasting spot; established plants are difficult to move.
Care sources
Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

21CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including KY

Genus host records with ranges including KY · 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 21
  • Gesta baptisiaeWild Indigo Duskywing, Baptisia 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
  • 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)

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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Fabaceae
Hardiness
Zones 3a–9b
Soil pH
Acidic
Flower color
Blue, yellow, purple or white

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Choose its permanent location carefully: the deep root makes transplanting difficult. Full sun encourages flowering. NC State Extension

Growing sources and scope

Recognizing it

Leaves divide into three leaflets. Upright flower spikes are followed by inflated seed pods. Identification source

Also known as

Streamside Blue Wild Indigo; Tall Blue Wild Indigo

Conservation status

Kentucky rankS3
Global rankG3G4
KY statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

Will it fit your spot?

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How to check your spot

Sources