Lupinus littoralis var. variicolor

Varicolored bluff lupine

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Varicolored bluff lupine is a California native perennial found in northern coastal and central coastal bioregions on coastal dunes, beaches, bluffs, and sandy terraces at elevations below 100 meters. Flowering from April to July, this plant produces strikingly variable flowers in white, yellow, rose, and purple on the same plant, creating a multicolored display. Growing 20 to 80 centimeters tall with dense, silver-appressed or spreading hairs, the plant forms a compact, textured mound. Its leaves are distinctively composed of 7 to 9 leaflets, each 20 to 35 millimeters long, often clustered near the base during its first year of growth. The seeds are mottled dark and measure 3 to 4 millimeters long.

Habitat: Coastal dunes, beaches, bluffs and terraces, sandy soil

Bloom period: Apr-Jul

Elevation: < 100(350) m

Bioregions: NCo, n&ampc CCo.

California counties: Sonoma, Alameda, Santa Barbara, Marin, San Mateo, Mendocino, San Francisco, Humboldt, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Del Norte

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