By Janice Stiefel
Reprint of article from 2001.
Photo by Larry Allain: USGS National Wetlands Research Center

Reprinted below is one of Janice Stiefel’s early articles which appeared in the July August, 2001, Vol. 14, No. 4 issue of the Wild Ones Journal. Janice, an early pioneer in teaching about the benefits of using native plants in natural landscaping, wrote 71 articles under the heading of “The Inside Story” between 1990 and 2002.

We’ve come a long way in our knowledge about native plants and their importance to the environment since 1979, and Janice had a big impact on the learning curve. This is just one of the articles which will be published in book form with the memorial funds being received in remembrance of Janice’s short time with us. Janice passed away March 18, 2008.

Send your donations made out to Wild Ones FBO Janice Stiefel Memorial, to Wild Ones, P.O. Box 1274, Appleton, WI 54912.

Family: Leguminosae (Pea)

Other Names: False indigo, prairie shoestring, wild tea, buffalo bellow plant, bird’s wood, bird’s tree.

Habitat: On dry sandy prairies and hills

Description: There are many small, blue flowers in spike-like clusters on a gray-colored shrub with white hairy stems. The flowers are 1/6-inch long, with one petal (the standard) and 10 bright orange stamens. The pinnately compound leaves are 2 to 4 inches long and covered with dense, short hairs, giving a grayish appearance. They are divided into 15 to 45 leaflets, each about 1⁄2-inch long.

Height: 1 to 3 feet.

Flowering: May to August.

Comments: Our native leadplant has very deep roots (4 feet or more). Therefore, it avoids competition from surrounding grasses.

Superstitions held that the leadplant was an indication of the presence of lead ore. In reality, it indicates a well-managed, native pasture or prairie remnant.

The leaves can be used to make a pleasant-tasting, yellow-brown tea. The Lakota Indians drank this leaf tea and used the dried crushed leaves, mixed with a little buffalo fat, as a smoking material.

Joseph N. Nicollet, a French explorer, wrote in his 1838 journal that leadplant was used by the Sioux to attract buffalo. This “concoction” was prepared by pounding up the roots, moistening them and mixing them together. Whoever rubbed the mixture on his clothing had the power to attract buffalo and to kill as many of them as he wanted.

Medicinal Use: The Omaha Indians powdered the dried leaves and blew them into cuts and open wounds. The astringent property of the leaves encouraged scab formation. The Potawatomi Indians made a leaf tea to kill pinworms, various intestinal worms, and the liquid tea was used to cure eczema.

Name Origin: The genus name, Amorpha (a-MORE-fa), is from the Greek word, amorphos, meaning “deformed,” from the absence of four of the petals (usually found in the pea family). The species name, canescens (kan-NESS-senz), means “graying-pubescent.” The common name is from its leaden hue, not an indication of lead.

Because of the laced-shoestring look of the leaves and roots, it was also called prairie shoestring. The Omahas and Poncas called this plant buffalo bellow plant because it was the dominant prairie plant in flower during the rutting season of the buffalo. The Lakotas called it bird’s wood or bird’s tree because birds perched on it for lack of trees on the prairie.

Author’s Note: For several years we had a beautiful specimen of the leadplant growing on our Plymouth, Wisconsin, property. Unfortunately, every year it got an attack from hundreds of beetles. They totally devoured the blossoms; rarely eating the leaves. I would capture the beetles in a jar but more kept coming until the blossoms were totally consumed. Then the insects mysteriously disappeared. The plant would return each year, seemingly more robust than ever. Could it be that those beetles were good for the plant?

I’ve also seen the same insect eating the leaves of queen-of-the-prairie (Filipendula rubra) on our property north of Bailey’s Harbor, Wisconsin. In that case they only wanted the leaves, not the blossoms. Here again I captured as many as I could in a jar, froze them, and dumped them on the compost pile.

After describing this beetle to Andrew Williams, fellow in the Entomological Department at UW-Madison, he told me the insect was Anomoea laticlavia (Forster). It did not appear to have a common name, so I named it leadplant beetle (appropriately). If anyone knows of another name for this insect, please let me know.

Propagating Leadplant
As with other members of the pea family, the use of an inoculant is advised. Seeds can be slow to start; scarification helps. Suckers or layering in summer may be an easier method of propagation. Green wood cuttings grow readily under glass early in season. Hard wood cuttings planted in an open protected place and given a year to grow can also be successful.

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