Baptisia cinerea (Rafinesque) Fernald & Schubert. Common name: Carolina Wild Indigo. Phenology: Late Apr-Jun; Jun-Jul. Habitat: Longleaf pine sandhills, other dry sandy woods. Distribution: Though common in the Coastal Plain of the Carolinas, B. cinerea is a narrow endemic, ranging only from s. VA south to s. SC. The report in Jones & Coile (1988) of B. cinerea in GA is in error; the specimen is of B. lanceolata.
ID notes: The large, yellow flowers are very showy. In fall, the leaves do not drop, but stay attached to the stems, the whole plant turning an ashy gray; these dried plants are conspicuous through the following winter.
Origin/Endemic status: Endemic
Synonymy ⓘ: = C, F, FNA11.1, G, K4, NS, POWO, RAB, SE3, Va, Isely (1981), Isely (1998), Mendenhall (1994a), Mendenhall (1994b), Turner (2006a); = Baptisia villosa (Walter) Nutt. — S, S13, Larisey (1940a), misapplied. Basionym: Lasinia cinerea Raf. 1836
Links to other floras: = Baptisia cinerea - FNA11.1
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Heliophily ⓘ: 8
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© Bruce A. Sorrie | Original Image ⭷
© Jennifer Peterson | Original Image ⭷
© Will Stuart | Original Image ⭷
© Bruce A. Sorrie | Original Image ⭷
© Grant Morrow Parkins | Original Image ⭷Feedback
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Horticultural Information
Intro: Erect perennial of sandhills and other dry sandy woods, roadsides and forest borders.
Stems: Stems with a few wide-spreading branches, sometimes smooth but more often covered with closely pressed, gray hairs.
Leaves: Leaves alternate, the petioles with conspicuous long, narrow stipules at the base; divided into 3 elliptic to oblong-oval leaflets, each 1 1/2-3 in. long and somewhat leathery. In fall, leaves do not drop but stay attached to the stems, the whole plant turning ashy gray.
Inforescence:
Flowers: Flowers in (usually 1) terminal spike, bright yellow, 3/4-1 in. long, bilaterally symmetric with typical pea-flower shape.
Fruits: Fruit a thick-walled, inflated, cylindrical pod.
Comments: A narrow endemic. Baptisia lanceolata var. lanceolata......?....and Baptisia lecontei.....?
Height: 1-2 1/2 ft.
plant sale text: This yellow flowered Baptisia blooms in late spring and is commonly found in the sandy soils of the Sandhills and Coastal Plain. After flowering has finished, the attractive seed pods persist, as well as the handsome foliage. Over time, each plant forms a slowly expanding clump with a deep and extensive root system. It is drought tolerant once its root system is established.
bloom table text:
description: Erect perennial of sandhills and other dry sandy woods, roadsides and forest borders.
stems: Stems with a few wide-spreading branches, sometimes smooth but more often covered with closely pressed, gray hairs.
leaves: Leaves alternate, the petioles with conspicuous long, narrow stipules at the base; divided into 3 elliptic to oblong-oval leaflets, each 1 1/2-3 in. long and somewhat leathery. In fall, leaves do not drop but stay attached to the stems, the whole plant turning ashy gray.
inflorescence:
flowers: Flowers in (usually 1) terminal spike, bright yellow, 3/4-1 in. long, bilaterally symmetric with typical pea-flower shape.
fruits: Fruit a thick-walled, inflated, cylindrical pod.
comments: A narrow endemic. Baptisia lanceolata var. lanceolata......?....and Baptisia lecontei.....?
cultural notes:
germination code: 2,3
native range: VA, NC & SC
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