Baptisia tinctoria

Baptisia tinctoria occurs in eastern North America from Ontario and New England west to southern Wisconsin and Illinois, and south to Georgia and South Carolina. It is common throughout Pennsylvania, Virginia and the Carolinas. This species, which is easy to find and recognize, is commercially available in the medicinal industry. A majority of root material in trade is wild-collected, however demand declined during the 20th century, and wild-collecting that occurred in the past probably did not impact wild populations. Demand for this species may be higher in Europe and increased use in the U.S. is possible, so future trends and wild populations should be monitored.

Baptisia tinctoria occurs in eastern North America, in southern Ontario in Canada and in the United States from southern New England west to southern Wisconsin and Illinois, and south to Georgia and South Carolina. Range extent was estimated to be 1.55 million square kilometers, using herbarium specimens and photo-based observations documented between 1992 and 2023 (GBIF 2023, iNaturalist 2023, SEINet 2023).

By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium records and photo-based observations documented between 1992 and 2023, it is estimated that there are more than 1100 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2023, iNaturalist 2023, SEINet 2023). Considered to be common or abundant in the southeast, especially from Pennsylvania to South Carolina (Isely 1990, Weakley and Southeastern Flora Team 2023).

Collection of this species for medicinal purposes poses a potential threat because it is fairly easy to find and recognize in some parts of its range (pers. comm. J. Nelson, October 2000). Some experts in the medicinal plant industry have suggested that trade is medium to large and demand increased during the 1990s (Robbins 1999). According to collections permits issued in the Nantahala National Forest, there was a spike in demand for this species in 1997 and in the following years collecting did not reach that volume. During this period, this species was actively collected from western North Carolina, central and northern Georgia, and central and eastern Tennessee (pers. com. G. Kauffman, November 2000). However, these collections probably did not significantly impair wild populations (pers. com. G. Kauffman, November 2000).

Estimated average annual use in the medicinal industry ranges from 15,000-18,000 dry pounds and 70% of that total is collected from wild populations (pers. comm. E. Fletcher, December 2000). According to Michael McGuffin, president of the American Herbal Products Association, there may be a relatively high demand for B. tinctoria in Germany where one company reportedly manufactures a product with a high volume of this species' extract (pers. comm., December 2000).