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Spiked Wild Indigo

Baptisia albescens

76
Strong

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

Profile 88%

Height
2–4 feet
Spread
2–3 feet
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Dry to average

Space about 2.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 16 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
Fruiting season
Summer to fall

Not yet recorded · Leaves · Bloom

Bloom: NC species account not read yet.

Leaves: no source found yet.

Recorded in 1 Virginia county.

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

22CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Baptisia

  • Antheraea polyphemusPolyphemus Moth
  • Automeris ioIo Moth
  • 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
  • Gesta baptisiaeWild Indigo Duskywing, Baptisia Duskywing
Show all 22
  • 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
Hardiness
Zones 3a–10b
Soil pH
Acidic to neutral
Flower color
White
Fruit begins
Summer
Fruit ends
Fall

What its natural habitat tells you

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Narrow Pod White Wild Indigo; Spiked White Wild Indigo

Conservation status

Virginia rankS1
Global rankG4
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources