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

Nootka lupine

Habit Herbs, annual, usually less than 1 dm, pubescent, hairs more than 1 mm. Herbs, perennial, (1–)4–10(–12) dm, hairs appressed to spreading, sparse to dense; caudex subterranean, woody.
Stems

very short, tufted, branched.

ascending to erect, clustered, unbranched or branched, sometimes thick, hollow.

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 1–8 cm;

proximal petioles 3–8.5 cm, distal ones 2–7 cm;

leaflets 5–8(–15), blades (10–)20–50(–70) × 5–15 mm, abaxial surface long-villous, adaxial surface usually glabrous or glabrate.

Racemes

dense, 3–16-flowered, 1–8 cm;

flowers spirally arranged, crowded.

1.8–30 cm;

flowers in 1–15 whorls.

Peduncles

1–8(–10) cm;

bracts persistent, straight, 2–3 mm.

(1–)4–9.5 cm;

bracts deciduous, 1–5 mm.

Pedicels

0.3–1.5 mm.

1–8 cm.

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.

11–21 mm;

calyx bulge or spur 0–1 mm, abaxial lobe entire or deeply lobed, 6–12 mm, adaxial lobe 2-lobed or cleft less than 1/3 length, 6–8 mm;

corolla usually bluish purple, sometimes pink, rarely white, banner glabrous abaxially, adaxial keel glabrous or densely ciliate along most of adaxial edge.

Legumes

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

3–6 cm, silky.

Cotyledons

persistent, disclike, sessile.

deciduous, petiolate.

Seeds

1 or 2, smooth.

7–11.

Lupinus brevicaulis

Lupinus nootkatensis

Phenology Flowering spring.
Habitat Sandy washes, open areas, grasslands, pinyon pine-juniper forests, creosote bush scrub, mesquite.
Elevation 300–2400 m. (1000–7900 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; NM; NV; OR; UT; WY; Mexico (Chihuahua, Sonora)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from USDA
n North America; Europe; Atlantic Islands (Iceland)
[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.)

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

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

Key
1. Hairs spreading, long and shaggy; stems 10–15 mm diam.; bracts 16–19 mm.
var. nootkatensis
1. Hairs finely silky-sericeous; stems 6–7(–9) mm diam.; bracts 7–13 mm.
var. fruticosus
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. 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. 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
Subordinate taxa
L. nootkatensis var. fruticosus, L. nootkatensis var. nootkatensis
Synonyms L. perennis var. nootkatensis
Name authority S. Watson: Botany (Fortieth Parallel), 53, plate 7, figs. 1–4. (1871) Donn ex Sims: Bot. Mag. 32: plate 1311. (1810)
Web links