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Pictured: Baptisia alba — the species. This variety isn’t separately illustrated.
Fabaceae family

Largeleaf Wild Indigo (var. macrophylla) Baptisia alba var. macrophylla variety

Native

Largeleaf Wild Indigo (var. macrophylla) is a perennial wildflower native to the lower 48 states.

More about this plant

Baptisia alba, commonly called white wild indigo or white false indigo, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the bean family Fabaceae. It is native in central and eastern North America, and is typically found in open woodland areas and prairies with tall grasslands. Wikipedia →

Growing & care

USDA PLANTS · TRY
Conditions
Sources · Conditions
Cold hardiness (derived) — Hardiness
Hardiness
≥ zone 5 derived from its U.S. range
Size & form
Sources · Size & form
USDA PLANTS — Lifespan
Lifespan
Perennial
In the garden
Herb layer — Sits in the herb of a layered food forest or polyculture.Open guide →
derived roles
Species characteristics from USDA PLANTS (public domain) + TRY (CC BY) — general guidance, not a guarantee for your exact site. Deer "browsing" is documented palatability, not a deer-proof claim.

Wildlife & pollinators

How pollinator value is scored →
❧ Caterpillar hosts ~17 caterpillar species

Baptisia supports ~17 caterpillar species.

Native butterfly & moth caterpillars are the base of the terrestrial food web — most songbirds rear their young almost entirely on them. As a host for native Lepidoptera this is a moderate genus.

Recorded feeding on Baptisia in North America, including:

Achalarus lyciades · Hoary Edge Agonopterix lecontella · concealer moth Antheraea polyphemus · Polyphemus Moth Automeris io · giant silk moth Catocala consors · Consort Underwing Cingilia catenaria · Chain-Dotted Geometer
+ 8 more species →
Colias eurytheme · Orange Sulphur Dasylophia anguina · Black-Spotted Prominent Erynnis baptisiae · Wild Indigo Duskywing Erynnis martialis · Mottled Duskywing Etiella zinckenella · snout moth Grapholita tristrigana · Three-Lined Grapholita Incisalia irus · gossamer-winged butterfly Papaipema baptisiae · Indigo Stem Borer
Keystone count (genus-level) from Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use records. Named species (a documented Nearctic sample, not exhaustive) from NHM HOSTS (CC0).
Species thumbnails re-hosted from iNaturalist — Creative Commons, credited per image (hover for credit). Click any species to see it on iNaturalist. Not exhaustive; many taxa have no openly-licensed photo yet.
Sources for this entry (12) Open & cited
[01] Scientific name & family — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[02] Growth habit & duration — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[03] Native status & distribution — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[04] Common name — USDA PLANTS (via GBIF)
[05] Invasive / introduced status — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503) — native status
[06] Description — Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
[07] Ecological value — Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[08] Conservation rank — NatureServe Explorer (CC BY)
[09] Cold hardiness (derived) — Derived from U.S. range × USDA PHZM zones
[10] Caterpillar host count — Warren II 2026 (Dryad, CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[11] Caterpillar species — NHM HOSTS (CC0)
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PlantKey’s data is open under CC BY-SA 4.0 — free to reuse and adapt, with attribution and the same licence. Photos keep their own per-image licence + credit (see Sources above).

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