Lupinus albifrons var. austromontanus

Southern mountain lupine

Family: Fabaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Southern mountain lupine is a California native shrub found in the Tehachapi Mountains, southern Great Basin, and southern Transverse Ranges in dry slopes, chaparral, and yellow pine forest at elevations of 1,000 to 3,000 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces silvery-white flowers 14 to 18 millimeters long in elongated clusters up to 40 centimeters tall. Growing as a subshrub 20 to 50 centimeters tall, it is woody only at the base and covered in distinctive silver hairs. Its leaves are densely crowded near the plant's base, creating a compact, silvery appearance. The banner of each flower may be glabrous or lightly hairy, adding subtle textural variation to its silvery-green foliage.

Habitat: dry slopes, chaparral, yellow pine forest

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: 1000-3000 m

Bioregions: Teh, SnGb, SnBr.

California counties: San Diego, Kern, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, Tulare, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.