The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links
Lupinus brevicaulis

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

King's lupine

Habit Herbs, annual, usually less than 1 dm, pubescent, hairs more than 1 mm. Herbs, annual, 1–2.5(–4) dm, pilose, hairs soft, flexuous, more than 1 mm.
Stems

very short, tufted, branched.

ascending or erect, usually branched, sometimes unbranched.

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 well developed;

petiole 1.3–3.3 cm;

leaflets (3 or)4–7, blades 7–20(–24) × 3–5 mm, adaxial surface pubescent.

Racemes

dense, 3–16-flowered, 1–8 cm;

flowers spirally arranged, crowded.

dense, several-flowered, 1–3 cm;

flowers spirally arranged.

Peduncles

1–8(–10) cm;

bracts persistent, straight, 2–3 mm.

(1–)3–6 cm;

bracts persistent, 3–4 mm.

Pedicels

0.3–1.5 mm.

0.8–2 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.

5–9 mm;

calyx 7–8 mm, adaxial lobe more than 1/2 as long as abaxial;

corolla usually blue with pale banner patch, sometimes entirely white, keel glabrous.

Legumes

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

not obviously undulate, 0.9–1.3 cm, sparsely or densely pilose.

Cotyledons

persistent, disclike, sessile.

persistent on young plants, becoming dry and deciduous, sessile.

Seeds

1 or 2, smooth.

2.

Lupinus brevicaulis

Lupinus kingii

Phenology Flowering spring. Flowering late spring–summer (late May–Aug).
Habitat Sandy washes, open areas, grasslands, pinyon pine-juniper forests, creosote bush scrub, mesquite. Dry open places in ponderosa pine forests, pine-oak transition and upper edge of pinyon-juniper woodland.
Elevation 300–2400 m. (1000–7900 ft.) 1200–3000 m. (3900–9800 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; NM; NV; OR; UT; WY; Mexico (Chihuahua, Sonora)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CO; NM; NV; UT; WY
[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.)

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. excubitus, L. flavoculatus, L. formosus, L. fulcratus, L. gracilentus, L. grayi, L. guadalupensis, L. havardii, L. hirsutissimus, L. huachucanus, L. hyacinthinus, 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. argillaceus, L. capitatus, L. kingii var. argillaceus, L. sileri
Name authority S. Watson: Botany (Fortieth Parallel), 53, plate 7, figs. 1–4. (1871) S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 8: 534. (1873)
Web links