Native Lands Restoration Collaborative interns are digging deep to learn more about native plants and share their experiences with our community! Our Seeds of Change intern, Eliza, has been studying native seeds, how to identify, collect, clean and grow them with our experienced staff. She'll be sharing her favorite species with all of you here, on the Nature Gang blog! Today's species is Blue wild indigo (Baptisia australis):
Blue Wild Indigo (Baptisia australis) is one of the more showy and beautiful plants of the prairie. It is a 4 foot tall legume with blue/purple pea flowers and a bushy base, blooming May through July. It is a pollinator favorite and is the host plant to the Wild Indigo Duskywing butterfly (Erynnis baptisiae). Wild blue indigo provides many resources to people. The root has been used for medicine for the flu, common cold, respiratory infections, and other conditions. This species has also been used as dye for clothing. They are also ideal additions to dried floral arrangements!
Collecting and cleaning Blue Wild Indigo is a fairly easy and fun process. Seed pods will turn black on the plant and seeds will rattle inside when they are ready to be collected. To clean the seeds, just crack open the seed pods and the seeds should fall right out! The seeds of wild indigo look like small, tan or brown kidney shaped beans.
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