Baptisia lactea (Raf.) Thieret

  • Authority

    Isely, Duane. 1981. Leguminosae of the United States. III. Subfamily Papilionoideae: tribes Sophoreae, Podalyrieae, Loteae. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 25 (3): 1-264.

  • Family

    Fabaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Baptisia lactea (Raf.) Thieret

  • Description

    Species Description - Usually robust, glabrous, erect or divaricate herb from a woody crown or caudex to 3 cm diam. Stems solitary or 2-3, commonly purplish and glaucous, .5-2 m, the main axis either dominant and exserted, or included among several divaricate lateral branches. Petioles graduated, 5-15 mm, or uppermost shorter; leaflets subsessile, elliptic-obovate to oblanceolate, 2-6(-8) cm, (1.7-)2-4.5 r. Stipules lanceolate, small, soon deciduous. Racemes terminal from main axis and branches, the central one commonly elongate with many ascending-spreading flowers 2-2.5 cm; bracts lanceolate, 7-10 mm, deciduous. Pedicels 3-10 mm. Calyx 7-8 mm; tube broadly campanulate; lobes deltoid, 1-2.5 mm. Corolla white-cream or white (locally yellow-tinged); standard sometimes proximally purple-marked. Stamens irregular with orange anthers. Ovary stipitate ca. 2-3.5 mm; ovary oblong, glabrous; ovules (10-12-)25-35. Legume initially erect, then spreading-pendent, exserted-stipitate 8-11 mm, moderately or greatly inflated, subspheroid, plumply ellipsoid to ellipsoid-cylindric, 2-4(-5) cm x l-2.5(-3) cm, rounded at apex, abruptly filiform-beaked; valves thickly coriaceous-woody to thinly brittle, initially purple-green or glaucous, usually black and smooth at maturity (-dark tan and slightly striate). Seeds numerous.

  • Discussion

    B. leucantha T. & G. (1840). Larisey (1940a) separated the glabrous, white-flowered Baptisia with black pods into three species, B. leucantha, B. psammophila and B. pendula that Turner (in annotation) combined with no subspecific categories. The rationale for one species with two varieties is presented under the discussion of var B. lactea obovata.

  • Distribution

    C states, s Michigan, Minnesota, Texas, Mississippi (var lactea), and se coastal plain (var obovata).

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