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Gray-hairy Wild Indigo

Baptisia cinerea

Found in longleaf pine sandhills, other dry sandy woods. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

76
Strong

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

Profile 94%

Height
1–3 feet
Spread
3–4 feet
Light
Dappled sunlight, Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Somewhat dry to moist

Space about 3.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 8 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
Spring and summer
Fruiting season
June to July

Not yet recorded · Leaves

Recorded in 3 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

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

1 of 2

Sandhills

Dry, deep-sand ridges with longleaf pine and turkey oak, kept open by fire.

Forests and woodlands

Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

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

All wildlife of Virginia

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 8a–9a
Flower color
Yellow
Fruit begins
June
Fruit ends
July

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

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Gray hairy Wild Indigo

Conservation status

Virginia rankSH
Global rankG3G4 [G4]
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources