Lupinus gracilentus

Slender lupine, Slender Lupine

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.3

Slender lupine is a rare (CNPS 1B.3) California native perennial found in central Sierra Nevada Mountains, including Rock Creek, Inyo, and Mono counties to Yosemite National Park, in subalpine forest and open moist sites at elevations of 2,500 to 3,500 meters. Flowering from July to September, this plant produces distinctive blue flowers with a white to pale yellow banner spot, typically 8 to 18 millimeters long. Growing 20 to 80 centimeters tall with an erect green stem that is puberulent to hairy, it develops a robust perennial form. Its compound leaves feature 5 to 8 leaflets, each 35 to 80 millimeters long and quite narrow at 2 to 5 millimeters wide, with lower leaf stalks measuring up to 14 centimeters. The fruit is a densely hairy pod reaching 2 to 3 centimeters in length.

Habitat: Open moist sites, Subalpine forest

Bloom period: Jul-Sep

Elevation: 2500-3500 m

Bioregions: c SNH (Rock Creek, Inyo, Mono cos., to Yosemite National Park).

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