Grows up to 2 feet with blue to violet flowers blossoming from June through August. Locally common to open, sandy prairies. Found mostly in the northeastern Tallgrass Region.

The Karner Blue butterfly, a federally listed endangered species depends upon L. perennis as a larval food source.

Native Americans brewed a leaf tea and drank it cold to treat nausea and internal hemorrhaging. They also used it as a fodder for horses to fatten them and make them "spirted and full of fire".

Edible Uses: Seed - cooked. Used as a protein-rich vegetable or savoury dish in any of the ways that cooked beans are used, they can also be roasted or ground into a powder. The seed has a bitter flavour due to the presence of toxic alkaloids, it should be thoroughly leached before being cooked.

Seedpods - cooked.

Medicinal Uses: A cold tea made from the leaves has been used to treat nausea and internal haemorrhages.

Herbal Uses: Unknown