The common name of false indigo refers to the use of certain native baptisias by early American colonists as a substitutes, albeit inferior, for true indigo (genus Indigofera) in making dyes. The genus name Baptisia comes from the Greek word bapto meaning "to dye". Stems with seed pods are valued additions to dried flower arrangements. Seeds rattle around in the blackened pods which were once popularly used by children as rattles. Flowers give way to inflated seed pods (to 2.5" long) which turn charcoal black when ripe and have considerable ornamental interest. It features purple, lupine-like flowers in erect racemes (to 12") atop flower spikes extending well above a foliage mound of clover-like, trifoliate, bluish-green leaves (leaflets to 2" long). lanceolata (Fabaceae)", Am J Bot, 94 (2): 228–236, doi: 10.3732/ajb.94.2.Baptisia australis, commonly called blue false indigo, is an upright perennial which typically grows 3-4' tall and occurs in rich woods, thickets and along streambanks from Pennsylvania south to North Carolina and Tennessee.
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