BAPTISIA. False indigo. Eastern U.S. These are perennial peas, attractive and often very durable in the garden. They produce several to many stems from a rootstock, each lined by large three-parted leaves. Many-flowered clusters of lupine-like blossoms develop at the shoot tips in spring or summer. They are followed by fat, pea-like seed pods which may turn nearly black as they mature. All are winter-deciduous. They thrive in a sunny spot with reasonably well drained soil and moderate watering and are beautiful additions to a large border. The following are hardy to below 0^oF.

australis. Blue false indigo. This is a robust plant, growing 2-4’ high, with several branched stems. The leaves are up to 3" long and colored an attractive blue-green. The flowers are about an inch in length and painted bright to deep blue or violet. This is one of the great eastern perennials, popular in temperate gardens for many years.

leucantha. This is my best guess at the identity of a promising recent acquisition—from whom it is not clear. This is a bushy 3’ plant with bright green stems and leaves, slightly tinged with purple. It blooms in midsummer but will often follow a cutting with further waves of bloom. The flowers are many, about an inch long, and colored cream-white with a contrasting purple base. It clearly deserves to be better known.