Lead Plant

Amorpha canescens (Native)

Lead Plant is a small, shrubby, native prairie plant with tight spikes of iridescent purple and orange flowers that appear from May to August. Lead Plant is naturally found in dry to mesic prairies and in open, upland savannas through most of the tallgrass region. Silver-green foliage is quite handsome. Leadplant is in the legume family so it fixes nitrogen in the soil. Because of its long, stringy roots, it is sometimes called Prairie Shoestring.

	Fragrant, iridescent flowers
	Butterfly attracting
	Legume that tolerates variety of sites

Height 18-36 Inches

Spread 12-36 Inches

USDA Hardiness Zone 2-8

Great Companions

Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa )

Lanceleaf Coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata )

Little Bluestem, Native (Schizachyrium scoparium )

Missouri Primrose (Oenothera macrocarpa )

Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea )

Pale Purple Coneflower (Echinacea pallida )

Ox-eye Sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides )

Characteristics & Attributes

Attributes Naturalizing Fragrant Native Border or Bed	Exposure Sun	Foliage Color Green	Other Characteristics Remediation Erosion Control Wetland Mitigation Prairie Restoration
Season of Interest (Flowering) Summer	Soil Moisture Preference Average