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Lupinus arbustus

grassland lupine (ssp. neolaxiflorus), long-spur lupine, Montana lupine (ssp. pseudoparviflorus), spur lupine

Habit Herbs, perennial, 2–7 dm, green or gray-silky.
Stems

erect, ascending, or decumbent, branched.

Leaves

cauline and basal;

stipules 4–9 mm;

petiole 2–16 cm;

leaflets 7–10(–13), blades 20–70 × 3–15 mm, adaxial surface strigose.

Racemes

open, 3–18 cm;

flowers whorled.

Peduncles

2–5 cm;

bracts deciduous, 3–6 mm.

Pedicels

1–7 mm.

Flowers

8–14 mm;

calyx spur distinct, 1–3 mm, abaxial lobe 3-toothed, 2.5–5 mm, 1–3 mm, adaxial lobe 2-toothed, 2–4 mm;

corolla blue, purple, pink, white, or yellowish, banner patch white, yellowish, or absent, banner hairy abaxially, wings with dense hair patch outside near tip, lower keel margins glabrous, adaxial margin ciliate.

Legumes

2–3 cm, silky.

Cotyledons

deciduous, petiolate.

Seeds

3–6, tan, 5–6 mm.

Lupinus arbustus

Phenology Flowering May–Jul.
Habitat Open sagebrush scrub or mixed-conifer forests.
Elevation 1500–3000 m. (4900–9800 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; ID; MT; OR; UT; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Lupinus arbustus is known from the Cascade and Klamath ranges, San Gabriel Mountains, Sierra Nevada, and the Great Basin area in California; Owyhee Desert in Idaho and Oregon; eastern Washington and western Montana; and western Juab and Tooele counties, Utah.

Lupinus arbustus is separated from the argenteus group by the presence of hairs on the corolla wings. Recognition of subspecies and varieties of this already complex species leads to precarious separation among taxa.

Lupinus variegatus A. Heller (1912, not Poiret 1814) is an illegitimate name that pertains here.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Lupinus
Sibling taxa
L. adsurgens, L. affinis, L. albicaulis, L. albifrons, L. andersonii, L. angustiflorus, L. antoninus, L. apertus, L. arboreus, L. arcticus, L. argenteus, L. arizonicus, L. benthamii, L. bicolor, L. brevicaulis, L. breweri, L. cervinus, L. chamissonis, L. citrinus, L. concinnus, L. constancei, L. covillei, L. croceus, L. dalesiae, L. diffusus, L. duranii, L. elatus, L. elmeri, L. excubitus, L. flavoculatus, L. formosus, L. fulcratus, L. gracilentus, L. grayi, L. guadalupensis, L. havardii, L. hirsutissimus, L. huachucanus, L. hyacinthinus, L. kingii, L. kuschei, L. lapidicola, L. latifolius, L. lepidus, L. leucophyllus, L. littoralis, L. longifolius, L. ludovicianus, L. luteolus, L. magnificus, L. malacophyllus, L. microcarpus, L. nanus, L. neomexicanus, L. nevadensis, L. nipomensis, L. nootkatensis, L. obtusilobus, L. odoratus, L. onustus, L. oreganus, L. pachylobus, L. padrecrowleyi, L. peirsonii, L. perennis, L. polyphyllus, L. pratensis, L. pusillus, L. rivularis, L. sabineanus, L. sericatus, L. sericeus, L. shockleyi, L. sierrae-blancae, L. sparsiflorus, L. spectabilis, L. stiversii, L. subcarnosus, L. succulentus, L. sulphureus, L. texensis, L. tidestromii, L. tracyi, L. truncatus, L. uncialis, L. villosus, L. westianus
Synonyms L. arbustus subsp. calcaratus, L. arbustus var. montanus, L. arbustus subsp. neolaxiflorus, L. arbustus subsp. pseudoparviflorus, L. arbustus subsp. silvicola, L. caesius, L. caudatus var. submanens, L. caudatus var. subtenellus, L. elegantulus, L. inyoensis var. demissus, L. laxiflorus var. calcaratus, L. laxiflorus var. cognatus, L. laxiflorus var. elmerianus, L. laxiflorus var. lyleianus, L. laxiflorus var. pseudoparviflorus, L. laxiflorus var. silvicola, L. laxiflorus var. villosulus, L. lyleianus, L. mucronulatus var. umatillensis, L. multitinctus, L. noldekeae, L. proteanus, L. pseudoparviflorus, L. silvicola, L. wenatchensis, L. yakimensis
Name authority Douglas: Edwards’s Bot. Reg. 15: plate 1230. (1829)
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