Top photo by Carla Wells
Wild Blue Indigo is a native, perennial wildflower from Illinois that now grows in natural area of Wisconsin. It can grow up to 4 feet tall. It has pea-like flowers that vary in color from light blue to deep violet, arranged in upright terminal racemes. The photo on the right above is the fruit of the Wild Blue Indigo. The leaves are trifoliate, meaning they have three leaflets each, and are gray green in color. The leaflets are obovate, or wider towards the tip, and have a rough texture. Wild Blue Indigo grows in dry to moist soils, in sunny or partly shaded locations, such as woodlands, meadows, prairies, and roadsides. (LS)