Baptisia alba (white wild indigo)

Showy spikes of white flowers take a few years to appear, but it's worth it! This long-lived plant is pollinated by bumblebees and is the host plant for several butterflies including the wild indigo duskywing. By fall the foliage turns gray-blue and the seed pods turn black and rattle in the wind.

Choose your planting site carefully -- this plant has a deep taproot and is difficult to transplant. Recommended spacing: 3 feet.