Lupinus pusillus

Lupinus pusillus, the rusty lupine[1] or dwarf lupine, is an annual plant in the legume family (fabaceae) found in the Colorado Plateau and Canyonlands region of the southwestern United States(California),[2]: 159  and north to Montana.

Lupinus pusillus
Lupinus pusillus, Montana
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Genus: Lupinus
Species:
L. pusillus
Binomial name
Lupinus pusillus
Pursh
Lupinus pusillus in the Wyoming big sagebrush steppe biome, near Phillips, Montana.

Description

Growth pattern

It is an annual plant growing up to 9 inches (23 cm) tall. "Pusillus is for the small size of the plant.[2]: 159 

Leaves and stems

Leaves are compound palmate with 3-9 1⁄2 to 1+1⁄2 inches (1.3 to 3.8 cm) long inversely lance- shaped leaflets.[2]: 159 

Plant stems and leaf stems (petioles) have long spreading hairs.[2]: 159 

Inflorescence and fruit

It blooms from April to June.[2]: 159 

Flowers are in stalks of 4-38 and bluish to purple or bicolored, with a yellow spot on the upper petal.[2]: 159 

Seedpods are nearly oval and have constrictions separating the seeds.[2]: 159 

Habitat and range

It can be found in desert shrubland and pinyon juniper woodland communities, from as far north as Washington, to California, and throughout the southwest.[2]: 159 

When growing in reddish sand, the blue flowers make a striking contrast with the sun at a low angle.[2]: 159 

Ecological and human interactions

It is pollinated by bees.[2]: 159 

References
  1. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Lupinus pusillus". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  2. Canyon Country Wildflowers, Damian Fagan, 2nd ed., 2012, Morris Bush Publishing, LLC. in cooperation with Canyonlands Natural History Association, ISBN 978-0-7627-7013-7
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