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Lupinus brevicaulis

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

Kincaid's lupine, sulfur lupine, sulphur lupine

Habit Herbs, annual, usually less than 1 dm, pubescent, hairs more than 1 mm. Herbs, perennial, (3–)4–8(–10) dm, hairs stiff to silky-appressed, whitish, grayish, or brownish.
Stems

very short, tufted, branched.

erect, densely tufted, unbranched distally.

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 and cauline, persisting until after flowering;

stipules 4–8 mm;

proximal petioles 4–20 cm, distal ones 1.5–5 cm;

leaflets 6–15, blades white to greenish, (20–)25–70 × 4–10 mm, abaxial surface hairy-strigulose or sericeous, adaxial surface strigulose-silky to sparsely hairy or glabrous.

Racemes

dense, 3–16-flowered, 1–8 cm;

flowers spirally arranged, crowded.

6–20 cm;

flowers whorled or spirally arranged.

Peduncles

1–8(–10) cm;

bracts persistent, straight, 2–3 mm.

2.5–6 cm;

bracts tardily deciduous, 5–9 mm.

Pedicels

0.3–1.5 mm.

(2–)4–10 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.

8–12 mm;

calyx asymmetrical but not spurred, silky, abaxial lobe entire, 4–7 mm, adaxial lobe 2-fid, 3–5 mm;

corolla pale sulfur yellow, blue, or white, banner glabrous or sparsely hairy abaxially (pubescence extending above calyx as a line), upper keel margins usually ciliate most of length, sometimes glabrous.

Legumes

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

2–3 cm, pilose to silky.

Cotyledons

persistent, disclike, sessile.

deciduous, petiolate.

Seeds

1 or 2, smooth.

4 or 5, pinkish brown.

Lupinus brevicaulis

Lupinus sulphureus

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
w North America
[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. Racemes (5–)12–20 cm; flowers usually sulfur yellow (ranging from white to occasionally blue); leaflet blade adaxial surface strigose-silky to sparsely hairy or glabrous, abaxial surface hairy strigulose.
var. sulphureus
1. Racemes 7–10(–11) cm; flowers blue to white; leaflet blade surfaces ± equally strigulose or sericeous.
var. bingenensis
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. sparsiflorus, L. spectabilis, L. stiversii, L. subcarnosus, L. succulentus, L. texensis, L. tidestromii, L. tracyi, L. truncatus, L. uncialis, L. villosus, L. westianus
Subordinate taxa
L. sulphureus var. bingenensis, L. sulphureus var. sulphureus
Name authority S. Watson: Botany (Fortieth Parallel), 53, plate 7, figs. 1–4. (1871) Douglas in W. J. Hooker: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 1: 166. (1832)
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