Flower profile
Cream wild-indigo
Baptisia leucophaea
Cream wild-indigo (Baptisia leucophaea) is a flowering plant in the Fabaceae family, native in the lower 48 states, blooming mostly March–June across the U.S.
Cream wild-indigo is a wildflower that USDA PLANTS lists as native in the lower 48 states. It's on our flower lists for 3 states, and across the U.S. it's most often seen in bloom in March–June.
*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 17, 2026.
Quick look
Baptisia bracteata, otherwise known as longbract wild indigo, long-bract wild indigo, long-bracted wild indigo, plains wild indigo, cream false indigo, or cream wild indigo, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the Fabaceae (bean) family that is native to the central and eastern United States. It is one of the earliest blooming species of Baptisia, beginning to bloom in March in certain areas of the United States.
- It belongs to the Fabaceae family. iNaturalist
- USDA PLANTS describes it as an herb (forb) with a perennial life cycle. USDA PLANTS
- USDA PLANTS lists it as native in the lower 48 states and records it in 19 states. USDA PLANTS
- NatureServe lists it as native to Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas. NatureServe
- iNaturalist has 685 research-grade sightings of it in Arkansas, ranking #69 among the 170 flowers on our Arkansas list. iNaturalist
- iNaturalist has 500 research-grade sightings of it in Oklahoma, ranking #66 among the 159 flowers on our Oklahoma list. iNaturalist
- iNaturalist has 359 research-grade sightings of it in Kansas, ranking #71 among the 151 flowers on our Kansas list. iNaturalist
When does it bloom?
Conservation status
- Federal (U.S. ESA)
- Not listed No U.S. Endangered Species Act listing in the USFWS ECOS database. USFWS ECOS
- NatureServe global
- T4 See NatureServe for what T4 means. NatureServe
- Arkansas
- No list Arkansas has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's Arkansas ranks instead. NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in Arkansas.
- Oklahoma
- No list Oklahoma has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's Oklahoma ranks instead. NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in Oklahoma.
- Kansas
- No list Kansas's endangered and threatened list (K.A.R. 115-15-1) covers animals only, so we show NatureServe's Kansas ranks for plants. NatureServe: S5, secure in Kansas.
- Rare elsewhere
- Other states where NatureServe ranks it rare or missing: KY (S2), MI (S1), TN (S1). (S1 critically imperiled, S2 imperiled, SH possibly extirpated, SX presumed extirpated.)
Checked October 17, 2026. Rankings and lists can change, so follow the links for the latest.
Can you eat it?
None of the sources we checked (NC State Extension (no page for this plant), USDA PLANTS) say whether it's edible or poisonous for people.
It isn't on the ASPCA plant list.
🌿 Never eat a wild plant unless you're certain of its ID; this isn't medical advice. Worried about a person? Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Worried about a pet? Call your vet.
Where does it grow?
USDA PLANTS records cream wild-indigo in 19 states.
recorded by USDA PLANTS on our state lists not recorded
See the full list of states
Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin.
Arkansas counties with USDA records: Arkansas, Ashley, Baxter, Benton, Boone, Bradley, Calhoun, Carroll, Clark, Cleburne, Cleveland, Columbia, Conway, Crawford, Dallas, Drew, Faulkner, Franklin, Fulton, Garland, Grant, Hempstead, Hot Spring, Howard, Izard, Jefferson, Johnson, Lawrence, Lincoln, Logan, Lonoke, Madison, Marion, Montgomery, Nevada, Newton, Perry, Pike, Polk, Pope, Prairie, Pulaski, Randolph, Saline, Scott, Sebastian, Sevier, Sharp, St. Francis, Stone, Union, Washington, Yell.
Oklahoma counties with USDA records: Adair, Atoka, Beckham, Blaine, Bryan, Caddo, Canadian, Carter, Cherokee, Cleveland, Coal, Comanche, Craig, Creek, Custer, Delaware, Garfield, Grady, Grant, Greer, Hughes, Johnston, Kingfisher, Latimer, Le Flore, Lincoln, Logan, Marshall, Mayes, McClain, McCurtain, Murray, Muskogee, Noble, Oklahoma, Osage, Ottawa, Pawnee, Payne, Pittsburg, Pontotoc, Pottawatomie, Pushmataha, Rogers, Seminole, Sequoyah, Stephens, Tulsa, Wagoner, Woodward.
Kansas counties with USDA records: Allen, Anderson, Atchison, Bourbon, Brown, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Clay, Cloud, Coffey, Cowley, Crawford, Dickinson, Doniphan, Douglas, Elk, Franklin, Geary, Greenwood, Harper, Harvey, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Kingman, Labette, Leavenworth, Linn, Lyon, Marion, Marshall, McPherson, Miami, Montgomery, Morris, Nemaha, Neosho, Osage, Ottawa, Pawnee, Pottawatomie, Reno, Riley, Saline, Sedgwick, Shawnee, Stafford, Sumner, Wabaunsee, Washington, Wilson, Woodson, Wyandotte.
Names, range and relatives
County records: USDA PLANTS lists it in 496 counties across 17 states; the most are in Missouri (90), Texas (66), Illinois (56).
Other Baptisia on Bloomipedia (3): Prairie false indigo, Tall blue wild indigo, Eastern wild indigo.
More from the Fabaceae family (114 on Bloomipedia; most observed first): Lupines, White clover, Red clover, Eastern redbud, Purple crownvetch, Bird's-foot trefoil, Partridge pea, White sweetclover.
More Arkansas flowers
Sources
- USDA, NRCS. PLANTS Database, profile BABRL2.
- iNaturalist, Baptisia leucophaea: taxonomy, research-grade observation counts and “Flowering” annotations, retrieved October 17, 2026.
- Wikipedia, Baptisia bracteata (lead quoted under CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Arkansas: Arkansas State Plant Board noxious weeds and prohibited plants (2 CAR § 50-101).
- Oklahoma: Oklahoma Noxious Weed Law (2 O.S. § 3-220).
- Kansas: Kansas noxious weeds (K.A.R. 4-8-44, as amended 2026).
- USFWS, ECOS species database (ESA listing check), October 17, 2026.
- NatureServe Explorer, Baptisia leucophaea (global and state ranks).
- Edibility and toxicity: no source found (marked "not well documented").
- Photo: aarongunnar via iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 · resized.