Baptisia tinctoria
Hortus Kew. 3: 6. 1811.
Herbs erect, to 1 m, glabrous. Leaves shortly petiolate or subsessile; stipules deciduous, minute; leaflets 3, blades obovate-cuneate to spatulate. Racemes 6+-flowered, terminal, long-exserted, bracteate, bracts caducous. Pedicels 3–5 mm. Flowers 14–18 mm; calyx 4–5 mm, glabrous or glabrate; corolla yellow, 12–16 mm. Legumes exserted-stipitate, erect, ovoid to ellipsoid, 8–15 × 5–9 mm, ± woody. Seeds 6–8. 2n = 18.
Phenology: Flowering May–Jul.
Habitat: Open, deciduous or pine woodlands.
Elevation: 10–700 m.
Distribution
Ont., Conn., Del., Ga., Ind., Ky., Maine, Md., Mass., Mich., N.H., N.J., N.Y., N.C., Ohio, Pa., R.I., S.C., Tenn., Vt., Va., W.Va., Wis.
Discussion
Baptisia tinctoria forms hybrids with B. alba (= B. × serenae M. A. Curtis), B. lactea (B. × deamii Larisey), and B. perfoliata (B. × fulva Larisey [= B. × microphylla Nuttall]). Within Baptisia, B. tinctoria and the unifoliolate-leaved species form an isolated clade (M. G. Mendenhall 1994).
Selected References
None.