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Lupinus brevicaulis

sand lupine, short stem blue lupine, short-stem lupine

silky lupine, tall silky lupine

Habit Herbs, annual, usually less than 1 dm, pubescent, hairs more than 1 mm. Herbs, perennial, 5–9 dm, silvery-woolly to -silky.
Stems

very short, tufted, branched.

ascending or erect, clustered, branched, short-silky.

Leaves

cauline, crowded near base;

stipules well developed;

petiole 1–6 cm;

leaflets (3 or)5–9, blades 8–20 × 2–9 mm, adaxial surface glabrous.

cauline;

stipules not leaflike, green to silvery, 5–17 mm;

petiole 2–5 cm;

leaflets 6–8, blades 20–80 × 2–7 mm, widest below middle, adaxial surface pubescent, hairs densely silver-silky to woolly.

Racemes

dense, 3–16-flowered, 1–8 cm;

flowers spirally arranged, crowded.

5–40 cm;

flowers ± whorled.

Peduncles

1–8(–10) cm;

bracts persistent, straight, 2–3 mm.

2–8 cm;

bracts deciduous, 6–11 mm.

Pedicels

0.3–1.5 mm.

2–4 mm.

Flowers

6–8 mm;

calyx abaxial lobe entire or shallowly cleft, ± 6 mm, adaxial lobe 2-toothed, 3 mm, less than 1/2 as long as abaxial;

corolla bright blue, banner spot white or yellow, keel glabrous.

10–14 mm;

calyx bulge or spur 0–1 mm, abaxial lobe 3-toothed, 6–8 mm, adaxial lobe notched, 5–7 mm;

corolla lavender to blue, banner patch pale yellowish, banner usually glabrous abaxially, keel upcurved, glabrous, banner ovate, wings wide, covering keel tip.

Legumes

not undulate, 1 cm, thinly pilose to coarsely hirsute.

2–3 cm, pubescent.

Cotyledons

persistent, disclike, sessile.

deciduous, petiolate.

Seeds

1 or 2, smooth.

4–6, mottled olive brown, 5–6 mm.

Lupinus brevicaulis

Lupinus elatus

Phenology Flowering spring. Flowering Jun–Aug.
Habitat Sandy washes, open areas, grasslands, pinyon pine-juniper forests, creosote bush scrub, mesquite. Dry conifer forests.
Elevation 300–2400 m. (1000–7900 ft.) 1500–3000 m. (4900–9800 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; NM; NV; OR; UT; WY; Mexico (Chihuahua, Sonora)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Lupinus brevicaulis resembles L. flavoculatus except that its flowers are smaller.

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

Lupinus elatus is found at high elevations in the southern Sierra Nevada and Transverse Ranges. It closely resembles L. adsurgens and L. andersonii.

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

Source FNA vol. 11. FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Lupinus 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. arbustus, L. arcticus, L. argenteus, L. arizonicus, L. benthamii, L. bicolor, 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
L. adsurgens, L. affinis, L. albicaulis, L. albifrons, L. andersonii, L. angustiflorus, L. antoninus, L. apertus, L. arboreus, L. arbustus, 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. 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. albicaulis var. elatus, L. formosus var. elatus
Name authority S. Watson: Botany (Fortieth Parallel), 53, plate 7, figs. 1–4. (1871) I. M. Johnston: Bull. S. Calif. Acad. Sci. 17: 63. (1918)
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