my id question

looks like legume, but the name given to me by the person who gave me the plant does not come up with anyting meaningful when i search...

"Baptista"

very hardy plant, comes up from the ground each year, appears to be asparagus at first.

probably invasive if planted without some type of border (the plant in these pictures was taken from a chunk of another plant and is about 3yrs old). grows to about 4ft. full sun. very heavy clay soil where it is usually damp. the person who gave it to us had it in normal loamy topsoil and it was also very hardy there too.

nice purple flowers, many seeds in the pods (like bean pods when dry).

context/habit:

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closer:

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thanks!

songbird

Reply to
songbird
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Its Lucerne which in your country is called alfalfa. Its not the least bit invasive.

Reply to
Farm1

Baptisia australis, blue false indigo. A lovely perennial in an informal flower border. Spreads by seed. Normally not dead headed, because the pods are quite attractive and the seedlings easily pulled. It is a North American native and was the Perennial Plant Association 2010 Plant of the Year.

Does well in a wide range of soils but prefers lime-free, well-drained soil.

Develops a tap root and doesn't transplant well--sulks for a year or more when you do transplant, but very long-lived once it's established.

I have a couple of clumps of Baptisia australis.

Also one plant of B. sphaerocarpa (yellow flowers) that I planted this year, and a hybrid, Twilite Prairieblues (I think), which I planted last year (didn't flower this spring, it's sulking).

Reply to
Pat Kiewicz

it does have similar leaves, but the pods are not at all the same (the pods of alfalfa curl and are very tiny in comparison).

also the main stem is completely different. alfalfa crowns and sends up shoots that have leaves, this plant looks like asparagus when it pushes up from below the soil (the crown is below the soil level).

i have alfalfa in another patch.

while reading about alfalfa recently i learned that it releases a chemical to prohibit it's own seeds from germinating. which explains why i've not been able to get bare spots to fill in even after leaving the plants to go to seed. so yes, i'd agree that alfalfa would not be invasive.

songbird

Reply to
songbird

the seeds sprout in limestone mulch... :) this plant is in a very low area, gets wet frequently and rarely has dry roots. still it is growing like gangbusters. if it weren't contained in the area is it by the borders and plants it would be twice as large around as it is.

thanks much!

good to know the seeds are not edible...

songbird

Reply to
songbird

Ah, well, you see not all plants understand the conditions that books state they /should/ be growing in! I thought Baptisia liked warm sandy soil before I saw it growing really well here in the UK in cold, wet, clay soil. I asked the garden owner if it was a newly-planted clump, but she said it had been growing there for years, with the clump increasing in size each year.

Just think how big it would have been if it had been growing in the correct conditions!

Reply to
Jeff Layman

Reply to
Higgs Boson

Yes, I just read the other response and that has me very excited. I need some of that plant. Wonder why it's got the 'australis' on the end of a native American plant?

Anyhow, the pic sure does look like lucerne and isnce I encourage any lucerne I can get to sprout because I like it so much, I'm going to now have to find the American native look alike.

Reply to
Farm1

Used as a specific name, "australis" simply means "southern". It is a latin term. You will probably be familiar with the "Aurora Borealis", or "Northern lights". On the other side of the equator, they are known as "Aurora Australis" - the "Southern lights".

I would guess there were other Baptisias which were discovered first, and were found further north than Baptisia australis.

Reply to
Jeff Layman

Jeff got that point covered... grows mostly in the SE US...

we usually have tons of seeds and sprouts. if you were localish i could at least send bunches to ya... grr! :) may be able to find it at a more local plant supplier/florists or they can get it for you through their channels.

songbird

Reply to
songbird

Yes, I know all of that.

That makes sense but rather lame as a way of naming a plant. 'This Baptisia is from further south than the other Baptisias'.

Reply to
Farm1

Thank you for your kind offer - it can sometimes be a right pain in the rear area not being able to import seeds freely, but then I also understand why our quarantine laws are so tough.

I've managed to find a few places online that have seed so now I know that I can get it here in Oz. Yippee!

Reply to
Farm1

Well, you've got Brunonia australis down there, and there's only one Brunonia! The way plants are named doesn't always make a lot of sense - there are no Brunonias further north.

Reply to
Jeff Layman

Farm1 wrote: ...

yay! :)

songbird

Reply to
songbird

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