Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fabales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Baptisia tinctoria
FAMILY
Fabaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may find it helpful to read The Genus Baptisia in South Carolina by Bill Stringer.
Learn more about Horsefly Weed from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
For an in-depth treatment, peruse A monograph of the genus Baptisia (Larisey, 1940).
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Baptisia tinctoria
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Baptisia tinctoria
SYNONYMOUS WITH Native & naturalized Leguminosae (Fabaceae) of the US (Isely, 1998)
Baptisia tinctoria
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 098-09-007:
Baptisia tinctoria FAMILY Fabaceae
INCLUDING A monograph of the genus Baptisia (Larisey, 1940)
Baptisia tinctoria var. crebra
INCLUDING A monograph of the genus Baptisia (Larisey, 1940)
Baptisia tinctoria var. projecta
INCLUDING A monograph of the genus Baptisia (Larisey, 1940)
Baptisia tinctoria var. tinctoria
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Baptisia gibbesii
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Baptisia tinctoria
COMMON NAME:
Horsefly Weed, Yellow Wild Indigo, Yellow False-indigo, Rattleweed
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_bati_001_lvd
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmbtinctoria_srec1
May Richland County SC
Sandhills Recreation Center
Recognized by its small yellow flowers, small leaflets, and small fruits, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm0506g_32
June Oconee County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm210626_1721
June Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
Flowers are yellow, 1/2" long, few at the ends of branches, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm210626_1722
June Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
Legume glabrous, subglobose to ovoid, body 7-9mm long, 6-8mm in diameter, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm210626_1726
June Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_b_tinctoria_4
June
Calyx persistent, campanulate, tube 2-3mm long, upper teeth ca. 0.5mm long, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow s050618_b
June Oconee County SC
Roadside
Small obovate leaflets tapered at the base and nearly sessile, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
COMPARE
leaves that are trifoliolate and palmately compound
)
JK Marlow s050618_e
June Oconee County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm0508f_05
August Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm061029_064
October Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
)
JK Marlow s071021_f
October Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
At one time this served as a substitute for true indigo, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Baptisia tinctoria
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Baptisia tinctoria
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Baptisia tinctoria
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Native & naturalized Leguminosae (Fabaceae) of the US (Isely, 1998)
Baptisia tinctoria
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 098-09-007:
Baptisia tinctoria
FAMILY
Fabaceae
INCLUDING
A monograph of the genus Baptisia (Larisey, 1940)
Baptisia tinctoria var. crebra
INCLUDING
A monograph of the genus Baptisia (Larisey, 1940)
Baptisia tinctoria var. projecta
INCLUDING
A monograph of the genus Baptisia (Larisey, 1940)
Baptisia tinctoria var. tinctoria
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Baptisia gibbesii
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Baptisia tinctoria
193
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Longleaf pine sandhills, pine flatwoods, xeric oak and pine woodlands, ridges, woodland edges, cobblebars, and roadbanks, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (rare in GA Piedmont & GA Coastal Plain)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Palmately compound: 3 leaflets
Mostly alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Yellow
Bilaterally symmetrical
4-5 toothed or lobed calyx
5-parted papilionaceous corolla
10 stamens
Superior ovary
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Legume
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- All About South Carolina Wildflowers (Midgley, 1999) p118
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p111
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p247
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p345
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p058
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p227
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p165
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p029
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p123
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p187
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p128
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p165
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p079
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p062
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