Florida Native Plant Society Blog

Skyblue Lupine's flowers are fading in Central Florida and the fuzzy seed pods are becoming prominent yet this amazing pollinator plant is in peak bloom in North Florida. Just like the White Wild Indigo profiled last week, Skyblue Lupine is a legume, meaning it associates with nitrogen-fixing bacteria and has a certain "beany" flower shape. Skyblue Lupine, Lupinus diffusus flowering and fruiting in Split Oak Forest March 17th, 2019. Photo © Tayler Figueroa . Skyblue lupine has a long, sensitive taproot and likes dry soils, so is found in sandhills , scrubs , openings in xeric hammocks , and dry flatwoods . It is very difficult to transplant and grow from seed so it is not available from nurseries for your home landscape or for restoration. It's leaves are eaten by the Frosted Elfin ( Callophyris irus ) butterfly, which is Listed Endangered in Florida 1 . It's also eaten by Grey Hairstreak ( Strymon melinis ) larvae, Genista Broom Moth ( Uresiphita ...

If you're out in the dry pinelands and sandhills of North Florida right now you might be blessed with seeing the blooms of the White Wild Indigo, Baptisia alba . White Wild Indigo at San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park , Alachua County, March, 2019. Photo © Susan Carr White Wild indigo is a handsome member of the Legume family. Standing at over 3 feet tall, this spring bloomer waves above the surrounding vegetation and is very attractive to pollinators. White Wild Indigo at San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park , Alachua County, March, 2019. Photo © Susan Carr There are nine species of Wild Indigos or Baptisia s in Florida. Wild White Indigo ( B. alba ) is in the B. alba - B. tinctoria Clade of the Genus Baptisias . This means that it is more closely related to Apalachicola Wild Indigo, Baptisia megacarpa , than any of the other seven species of Wild Ingidos in Florida 1 . White Wild Indigo at San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park , Alachua ...