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Lupinus brevicaulis

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

Coulter's lupine, Mojave lupine

Habit Herbs, annual, usually less than 1 dm, pubescent, hairs more than 1 mm. Herbs, annual, 1.5–4 dm, strigose, hairs short and appressed, also pilose, hairs long and spreading.
Stems

very short, tufted, branched.

ascending or erect, 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.

cauline;

petiole (1–)3–7 cm;

leaflets (5–)7–11, blades (7–)15–30(–45) × 2–5 mm, adaxial surface glabrous or pubescent, at least marginally.

Racemes

dense, 3–16-flowered, 1–8 cm;

flowers spirally arranged, crowded.

10–25 cm;

flowers spirally arranged.

Peduncles

1–8(–10) cm;

bracts persistent, straight, 2–3 mm.

2–4 cm;

bracts usually deciduous, 3–5 mm, shorter than buds.

Pedicels

0.3–1.5 mm.

2–5 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.

10–12(–13) mm;

calyx 3–6 mm, lobes ± equal, abaxial lobe entire, adaxial lobe deeply cleft;

corolla usually blue, rarely pinkish, drying darker, banner spot whitish becoming magenta, lower keel margins ciliate near claw, upper margins often ciliate near claw.

Legumes

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

1–2 cm, coarsely pubescent.

Cotyledons

persistent, disclike, sessile.

deciduous, petiolate.

Seeds

1 or 2, smooth.

4 or 5.

Lupinus brevicaulis

Lupinus sparsiflorus

Phenology Flowering spring. Flowering spring (Mar–May).
Habitat Sandy washes, open areas, grasslands, pinyon pine-juniper forests, creosote bush scrub, mesquite. Washes, sandy areas, chaparral, grasslands, coastal sage scrub, Joshua tree/mesquite woodlands, creosote bush scrub.
Elevation 300–2400 m. (1000–7900 ft.) 0–1500 m. (0–4900 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; UT; Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora)
[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.)

Plants from the Mojave Desert often have smaller flowers and have been named subsp. mohavensis, and those from western San Diego County with pinkish flowers and truncate leaflets have been named var. inopinatus.

(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. 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. 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. pondii, L. sparsiflorus subsp. inopinatus, L. sparsiflorus var. inopinatus, L. sparsiflorus subsp. mohavensis, L. sparsiflorus var. mohavensis, L. sparsiflorus var. pondii
Name authority S. Watson: Botany (Fortieth Parallel), 53, plate 7, figs. 1–4. (1871) Bentham: Pl. Hartw., 303. (1849)
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