About Baptisia tinctoria (L.) R.Br.
Baptisia tinctoria (L.) R.Br. produces multiple bushy stems that grow 2 to 3 feet tall. Its leaves are silver-green, and each leaf is divided into three leaflets around ½ inch long. This species bears yellow flowers arranged in spikes that measure 1½ to 3 inches long. Its leaves are consumed by some lepidopteran caterpillars, including the Io moth, Automeris io. On Martha's Vineyard, Baptisia tinctoria grows as a tumbleweed: it develops a globular shape, breaks away from its roots in autumn, and tumbles across the ground. Baptisia tinctoria is distributed across the entire eastern United States, extending west to Minnesota and south to Florida. It is rare in some areas of its range, so it receives protection from some state governments: it is listed as threatened in Kentucky, and considered endangered in Maine. This plant favors dry meadows and open woodland habitats.
