Lupinus argenteus

Silvery lupine

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Silvery lupine is a California native perennial herb found in montane and subalpine habitats at elevations ranging from mountain meadows to alpine zones. Flowering from May to August, this plant produces blue, violet, or white flowers with a subtle yellow or white spot on the banner petal. Growing with erect stems 10 to 70 centimeters tall, it develops a distinctive silvery to green-glabrous appearance with complex leaf structures. Its leaves feature 5 to 9 narrow leaflets 10 to 60 millimeters long, with hairy undersides and glabrous to lightly hairy upper surfaces. The fruit is a hairy or silky pod 1 to 3 centimeters long, containing 2 to 6 seeds in tan, brown, or reddish tones.

California counties: Mono, Inyo, San Bernardino, Modoc, Amador, Alpine, Siskiyou, Shasta, Lassen, Tuolumne, Nevada, Plumas, Sierra, Butte, Tulare, Tehama, Del Norte, El Dorado, Placer, Los Angeles

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