Lupinus argenteus var. argenteus

Silvery lupine

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Silvery lupine is a California native perennial found in the northern Sierra Nevada, Great Basin, and Desert Mountains in dry meadows, conifer forest openings, and sagebrush scrub at elevations of 1,000 to 2,000 meters. Flowering from June to October, this plant produces blue or purple to white flowers 8 to 12 millimeters long with a slightly hairy banner. Growing 20 to 150 centimeters tall with stems and leaf hairs that are appressed and compact, it has a distinctive upright form. Its leaves are green with leaflets that tend to be folded, typically carried on petioles 1 to 5 centimeters long. The plant forms a robust, multi-stemmed cluster with densely clustered leaflets and a varied color range of blue to white blossoms.

Habitat: dry meadows, openings in conifer forests, sagebrush scrub

Bloom period: Jun-Oct

Elevation: 1000-2000 m

Bioregions: CaR, n SNH, GB, DMtns

California counties: Inyo, San Bernardino, Modoc, Shasta, Mono, Siskiyou, Alpine, Placer, Butte, Del Norte, Lassen, Plumas, Sierra, Nevada, Tuolumne

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