Scientific Family
Fabaceae
Other common names
Hill's lupine
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Perennial
Height
8 inches
Riparian
No
A leafy stemmed lupine with conspicuously whorled flowers along the flower stalks.
Perennial; leafy stemmed; leaves basal and alternate, palmately compound with 5 to 9 leaflets. Flowers to 1/4 inch long, pea-like, bluish-purple, banner petal silky with appressed hairs on center back, borne on short stalks in whorled clusters.
Habitat
Ponderosa pine forests.
Plant Community
Montane Conifer Forest
Low elevation
6000
High elevation
9000
Flower Characteristics
Pea-like, to 1/4 inch long. Flowers are bluish purple while the banner has a reddish-purple patch in the center. Flowers are supported by prominent green bracts, whose tips tend to curve outwards while the flowers are still in bud.
Flower color
Blue to purple
Flower shape
Irregular
Tubular
Yes
First bloom month
May
Last bloom month
September
Flower clusters
Elongated
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Leaves are to 2-1/2 inches wide and have 5 to 9 leaflets. They are most hairy along the edges, at the tip and on the undersurfaces.
Leaf type
Compound
Leaf color
Grayish-green
Leaf shape
Palmate
Leaf margin
Smooth
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
Leaves & stems
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Fruit type
Pod
Fruit color
Green turning to brown
Seeds are rounded, pea-like.