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Lupinus brevicaulis

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

Mohave lupine, Mojave lupine, Mojave royal lupine

Habit Herbs, annual, usually less than 1 dm, pubescent, hairs more than 1 mm. Herbs, annual, 1–3 dm, usually glabrous, sometimes sparsely pubescent when young, rarely at anthesis, hairs less than 0.5 mm.
Stems

very short, tufted, branched.

basally branched or 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.

basal;

petiole 2–12 cm;

leaflets 5–9, blades bright green, 8–24 × 3–10 mm, adaxial surface glabrous.

Racemes

dense, 3–16-flowered, 1–8 cm;

flowers spirally arranged, crowded.

4–25 cm;

flowers spirally arranged.

Peduncles

1–8(–10) cm;

bracts persistent, straight, 2–3 mm.

hollow, 6–15 cm;

bracts persistent, straight, 2–4 mm, tips sparsely ciliate.

Pedicels

0.3–1.5 mm.

3–7 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.

7–10 mm;

calyx lobes sometimes ciliate at tips, abaxial lobe entire, 4–5 mm, adaxial lobe rounded or shallowly 2-toothed, 3–3.5 mm;

corolla deep blue-purple, banner spot white or yellow becoming magenta, keel glabrous.

Legumes

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

1.5–2.5 cm, adaxial suture undulate and ciliate with long dense hairs, sides with a few short hairs becoming scaly on drying.

Cotyledons

persistent, disclike, sessile.

persistent, disclike, sessile.

Seeds

1 or 2, smooth.

2–6, ridged.

Lupinus brevicaulis

Lupinus odoratus

Phenology Flowering spring. Flowering spring.
Habitat Sandy washes, open areas, grasslands, pinyon pine-juniper forests, creosote bush scrub, mesquite. Creosote bush scrub, Joshua tree woodland, sandy desert flats, open areas.
Elevation 300–2400 m. (1000–7900 ft.) 500–1600 m. (1600–5200 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; NM; NV; OR; UT; WY; Mexico (Chihuahua, Sonora)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CA; NV
[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.)

The fresh flowers of Lupinus odoratus smell like violets. Pilose plants can be confused with L. flavoculatus.

Lupinus odoratus occurs in the Mojave Desert region of California, northward to Inyo and Mono counties, and eastward into southern Nevada and Mohave County, Arizona.

The name Lupinus odoratus A. Heller is to be proposed for conservation against L. odoratus F. Dietrich (1836), a likely synonym of L. nanus.

(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. 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. 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. odoratus var. pilosellus
Name authority S. Watson: Botany (Fortieth Parallel), 53, plate 7, figs. 1–4. (1871) A. Heller: Muhlenbergia 2: 71. (1905)
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