Lupinus adsurgens
Drew's silky lupine
(c) Trevor Van Loon, some rights reserved (CC BY) · licence
Family: Fabaceae · Type: Subshrub · Native
Lupinus adsurgens (Drew's silky lupine) is a native California subshrub in the Fabaceae family, recognized by very wide silky pods.
Drew's silky lupine is a California native perennial found in the northern Coast Ranges, Sierra Nevada, and San Francisco Bay Area (Santa Clara County) on dry slopes and in montane forest at elevations of 500 to 3,500 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces pale yellow to lavender or violet flowers with distinctive yellow to white spots, arranged in open inflorescences 2 to 23 centimeters long. Growing 20 to 60 centimeters tall with erect stems that are hairy and silver to dull green, it develops a robust perennial structure. Its leaves have 6 to 9 leaflets, each 20 to 50 millimeters long and widest above the middle, with stipules 5 to 17 millimeters long. The fruit is silky, 2 to 4 centimeters long, containing 3 to 6 mottled brown seeds.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 64 sympatric species; distinguished by very wide silky pods
Habitat and range
Habitat: dry slopes, montane forest
Elevation: 500-3500 m
California counties: Plumas, Butte, Ventura, Tulare, Madera, Kern, Mariposa, Fresno, Tuolumne, Placer, Trinity, El Dorado, San Bernardino, Calaveras, Lake, Amador, Sonoma, Tehama, Glenn, Humboldt, Siskiyou, Mendocino, Santa Clara, Colusa, Shasta, Santa Barbara, Alameda, Nevada, Inyo, Sierra, Orange
Outside California: southern Oregon
Bloom period
Lupinus adsurgens blooms May-Jul.
How to tell it apart
vs Salvia: Lupine has pea flowers and palmate leaves; sage has tubular two-lipped flowers and opposite leaves.; vs Artemisia: Lupine has large showy flower spikes; sagebrush has tiny inconspicuous flowers and silvery aromatic foliage.; vs Thermopsis: Lupine typically has 7-11 leaflets; false lupine has exactly 3 leaflets and bright yellow flowers.; vs Delphinium: Lupine has pea flowers; larkspur has flowers with prominent backward-pointing spur.; vs Vicia: Lupine is upright with palmate leaves; vetch is climbing with pinnate leaves and tendrils.
Frequently asked questions
Is Lupinus adsurgens native to California?
Yes. Lupinus adsurgens is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Lupinus adsurgens bloom?
Lupinus adsurgens blooms May-Jul.
Where in California does Lupinus adsurgens grow?
Lupinus adsurgens occurs in Plumas, Butte, Ventura, Tulare, Madera, Kern, Mariposa, Fresno and other counties, at elevations of 500-3500 m.
What plant family does Lupinus adsurgens belong to?
Lupinus adsurgens is in the Fabaceae family, genus Lupinus.
What habitat does Lupinus adsurgens grow in?
Lupinus adsurgens grows in dry slopes, montane forest.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.