Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fabales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (2/10/25):
Baptisia leucophaea +
FAMILY
Fabaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Some references have the more westerly taxon in the broad sense B. bracteata as B. bracteata var. leucophaea, meaning that they would have the eastern taxon (including NC) as B. bracteata var. bracteata. Learn more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
For an in-depth treatment, peruse A monograph of the genus Baptisia (Larisey, 1940).
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Baptisia bracteata
FAMILY
Fabaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 11 (2023)
Baptisia leucophaea var. leucophaea
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Baptisia leucophaea +
SYNONYMOUS WITH Native & naturalized Leguminosae (Fabaceae) of the US (Isely, 1998)
Baptisia leucophaea +
INCLUDED WITHIN A monograph of the genus Baptisia (Larisey, 1940)
Baptisia leucophaea var. glabrescens
COMMON NAME:
longbract wild indigo
No pictures are available at this time.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (2/10/25):
Baptisia leucophaea +
FAMILY
Fabaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Baptisia bracteata
FAMILY
Fabaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 11
Baptisia leucophaea var. leucophaea
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Baptisia leucophaea +
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Native & naturalized Leguminosae (Fabaceae) of the US (Isely, 1998)
Baptisia leucophaea +
INCLUDED WITHIN
A monograph of the genus Baptisia (Larisey, 1940)
Baptisia leucophaea var. glabrescens
2407
Forb
Perennial
Look for it in pinelands and, depending on variety, woodlands or coastal prairies, per Weakley's Flora
Native: west of the Carolinas & Georgia
LEAVES:
Palmately compound: 3 leaflets
Mostly alternate
FLOWER:
Spring
Cream/Yellow
Bilaterally symmetrical
4-5 toothed or lobed calyx
5-parted papilionaceous corolla
10 stamens
Superior ovary
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
Legume
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- All About South Carolina Wildflowers (Midgley, 1999) p118
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p030
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p165
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".