Lupinus duranii

Mono lupine, Mono Lake Lupine

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

Mono lupine is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native perennial found in the eastern Sierra Nevada in Mono County, growing on dry volcanic pumice and gravel at elevations of 2,000 to 3,000 meters. Flowering from May to August, this plant produces violet flowers with a cream or white banner spot, clustered in dense whorls 2 to 6 centimeters long. Growing as a robust, tufted perennial just 5 to 12 centimeters tall with shaggy-hairy stems, it forms a compact mountain wildflower. Its basal leaves have 5 to 8 leaflets, each 5 to 20 millimeters long, with prominent stipules 6 to 11 millimeters in length. The fruit is 1 to 2 centimeters long, containing 3 to 5 white seeds.

Habitat: dry volcanic pumice, gravel

Bloom period: May-Aug

Elevation: 2000-3000 m

Bioregions: SNE (Mono Co.).

California counties: Mono, Inyo

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