Lupinus breweri

Brewer's lupine

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Brewer's lupine is a California native perennial herb found in mountain habitats at elevations typically between 1,000 to 2,000 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces blue to violet flowers with distinctive white or yellow banner spots, arranged in compact inflorescences 1 to 10 centimeters long. Growing as a low, matted perennial less than 20 centimeters tall with a partially woody base and prostrate stems covered in silver-silky hairs, it forms dense tufted clusters. Its leaves are clustered near the base, composed of 5 to 10 small leaflets 3 to 20 millimeters long, creating a delicate, compact appearance. The fruit is a silky pod 1 to 2 centimeters long, containing 3 to 4 mottled tan and brown seeds.

California counties: Alpine, Plumas, Mono, El Dorado, Tuolumne, San Bernardino, Tulare, Los Angeles, Fresno, Sierra, Ventura, Kern, Mariposa, Nevada, Siskiyou, Lassen, Inyo, Madera, Calaveras, Placer, Del Norte, Trinity, Humboldt, Monterey, Riverside

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