Baptisia australis
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Cytisus scoparius
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Cytisus scoparius
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Wisteria floribunda
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Kingdom Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom Tracheobionta – Vascular plants Superdivision Spermatophyta – Seed plants Division Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants Class Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons Subclass Rosidae Order Fabales Family Fabaceae ⁄ Leguminosae – Pea family |
Genus
Baptisia Vent. – wild indigo Species Baptisia australis (L.) R. Br. – blue wild indigo |
Genus
Cytisus Desf. – broom Species Cytisus scoparius (L.) Link – Scotch broom |
Genus
Wisteria Nutt. – wisteria Species Wisteria floribunda (Willd.) DC. – Japanese wisteria |
Blue wild indigo
Wild blue indigo Blue false indigo baptisia (Gr) To dip, referring to use of plant australis (L) = 'Of or from the south" Native to eastern North America Native habitat: Wood edges; limestone glades; prairies Drought tolerant Nitrogen fixer
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Broomtops,
Common Broom European Broom Irish Broom English Broom cytisus (Gr) = clover-like plant scoparius (L) = "broom-like" Native to Europe Salt tolerance high Date of US introduction: 1800s |
wisteria = Caspar Wistar, 18th century American professor of anatomy floribunda (L) = many-flowering Native to Japan |
Toxic Parts:
All Toxin Delivery Mode: Ingestion Symptoms:
Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea Toxic Principles:
Baptisin and cytisine Severity: LOW TOXICITY IF EATEN |
Poison Part:
Seeds, leaves, twigs (stems) Poison Delivery Mode: Ingestion Symptoms: Vomiting, excitement, muscular weakness, convulsions Toxic Principle: Quinolizidine alkaloids Severity: HIGHLY TOXIC, MAY BE FATAL IF EATEN! |
All parts of the plant are toxic, especially the seeds
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Its name is interesting in itself. With a common name of "blue false indigo," it is no surprise that its lupine-like blossoms are blue. (Those lupine-like blossoms give rise to yet another name: redneck lupine.) B australis has always been used as a dye; the plant's sap turns an inky blue and blue dye can be made from its roots. Please note that this blue dye is inferior to dye made from "real" true indigo, Indigofera tinctoria. True indigo is native to Asia, which is where the name Indigo came from, meaning it was imported from India. Indigo came to be the name of the dye, and then the name of the color. Blue denim was originally dyed with Indigo dye.
But when settlers arrived in the New World, they found the locals dyeing things blue with a different plant, and called it "false indigo." It wasn't as effective as true indigo for dyeing clothes, but it was better than nothing. So it was "false" Indigo, "wild" Indigo, or even "blue wild indigo," not True Indigo. And don't get it confused with this False Indigo, which is another plant with a very similar name but a rather different habit. As for the Baptisia part of the name, it comes from the Greek root bapto- meaning to dip or to immerse. That's where we get the words for baptise and baptist. This plant was called Baptisia because people were dipping their cloth in extracts from it! The australis part means "southern," but Blue False Indigo is comfortable in many different parts of the continent. That's where the correct binomial name of False or Wild Indigo comes from; Baptisia australis. Indeed, the flowers are extremely blue, nearly purple-blue-black. If you're not looking to dye things blue (like most of us in the 21st century), you will find Baptisia to be garden-friendly oramentals. They are tough once established, and feature deep blue flowers in late spring to early summer. Read more: http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/4393#ixzz3bq7scHtJ |
Plant
Foliage
Flowers
Racemes
Irregular
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Monoecious
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Fruit
Pods
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