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Lupinus brevicaulis

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

grape lupine, grape soda lupine, guard lupine

Habit Herbs, annual, usually less than 1 dm, pubescent, hairs more than 1 mm. Shrubs, 10–20 dm, densely silver appressed-hairy.
Stems

very short, tufted, branched.

erect, branched.

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 5–20 mm;

petiole 4–10 cm;

leaflets 7–9, blades 5–50 × 4–7 mm, adaxial surface densely pubescent, silver-hairy.

Racemes

dense, 3–16-flowered, 1–8 cm;

flowers spirally arranged, crowded.

10–70 cm, rachis persistent;

flowers whorled or not.

Peduncles

1–8(–10) cm;

bracts persistent, straight, 2–3 mm.

7–20 cm;

bracts deciduous, 8–9 mm.

Pedicels

0.3–1.5 mm.

4–6 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.

with distinctive sweet smell, 10–13 mm;

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

corolla violet to lavender, banner patch bright yellow, turning purple, banner usually hairy abaxially, keel usually ± lobed proximally, abaxial margins glabrous, adaxial margin ciliate middle to tip.

Legumes

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

3–5 cm, silky.

Cotyledons

persistent, disclike, sessile.

Seeds

1 or 2, smooth.

5–8, mottled yellow-brown with lateral lines.

Coty

-ledons deciduous, petiolate.

Lupinus brevicaulis

Lupinus excubitus

Phenology Flowering spring. Flowering Apr–Jun.
Habitat Sandy washes, open areas, grasslands, pinyon pine-juniper forests, creosote bush scrub, mesquite. Desert slopes, washes.
Elevation 300–2400 m. (1000–7900 ft.) (700–)1200–2700 m. ((2300–)3900–8900 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; NM; NV; OR; UT; WY; Mexico (Chihuahua, Sonora)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; Mexico (Baja California)
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[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 excubitus is known from Inyo to San Bernardino counties in the Mojave Desert, desert mountains, and southern Sierra Nevada east of the crest (transmontane).

Circumscriptions of Lupinus excubitus have been diverse. See discussion under 32. L. albifrons, under which many varieties now have been treated as synonyms.

(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. elatus, L. elmeri, 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
Name authority S. Watson: Botany (Fortieth Parallel), 53, plate 7, figs. 1–4. (1871) M. E. Jones: Contr. W. Bot. 8: 26. (1898)
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