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Lupinus brevicaulis

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

Sierra blanca lupine, White Mountain lupine

Habit Herbs, annual, usually less than 1 dm, pubescent, hairs more than 1 mm. Herbs, perennial, 6.5–15.2 dm, appearing green and glabrous but finely and inconspicuously pubescent.
Stems

very short, tufted, branched.

erect, solitary, branched, robust, succulent, hirsutulous.

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 6–9 mm;

proximal petioles 5–7 cm, withering, distal ones 3.5–6.5 cm;

leaflets 7–10, blades 30–95 × 5–13 mm, abaxial surface finely strigulose, adaxial surface glabrate, yellow-green or gray-green.

Racemes

dense, 3–16-flowered, 1–8 cm;

flowers spirally arranged, crowded.

5–34 cm;

flowers whorled or spirally arranged.

Peduncles

1–8(–10) cm;

bracts persistent, straight, 2–3 mm.

4–5 cm;

bracts semi-deciduous, 5–7 mm.

Pedicels

0.3–1.5 mm.

2–8(–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.

10–14 mm;

calyx abaxial lobe ± slightly gibbous, 9–15 mm, adaxial lobe slightly notched, 7–11 mm;

corolla pale blue and whitish, banner with conspicuous darker spot, banner glabrous or hairy abaxially, keel falcate, often ± ciliolate distally.

Legumes

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

3.5 × 0.8–1 cm, hirsute.

Cotyledons

persistent, disclike, sessile.

deciduous, petiolate.

Seeds

1 or 2, smooth.

5–7.

2n

= 48.

Lupinus brevicaulis

Lupinus sierrae-blancae

Phenology Flowering spring. Flowering Jun–Aug.
Habitat Sandy washes, open areas, grasslands, pinyon pine-juniper forests, creosote bush scrub, mesquite. Meadows in pine or fir forests, roadsides.
Elevation 300–2400 m. (1000–7900 ft.) 1800–3100 m. (5900–10200 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; NM; NV; OR; UT; WY; Mexico (Chihuahua, Sonora)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
NM
[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.)

Lupinus sierrae-blancae is known only from the Sierra Blanca and Sacramento Mountains in Lincoln and Otero counties.

(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. 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. aquilinus, L. laetus, L. sierrae-blancae subsp. aquilinus
Name authority S. Watson: Botany (Fortieth Parallel), 53, plate 7, figs. 1–4. (1871) Wooten & Standley: Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 16: 138. (1913)
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