Lupinus ludovicianus

San luis obispo county lupine, San Luis Obispo County Lupine

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

San luis obispo county lupine is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native perennial found in southern San Luis Obispo County in open, grassy areas and oak woodlands at elevations of 50 to 520 meters. Flowering from April to July, this plant produces blue to purple flowers 10 to 15 millimeters long with a distinctive yellow spot that turns purple to white. Growing 30 to 60 centimeters tall with erect, branched stems covered in soft woolly hairs, the plant develops a compact, clustered form. Its leaves have 5 to 9 oblanceolate leaflets, each 15 to 40 millimeters long, clustered at the base of erect stems. The fruit is 2 to 3 centimeters long and hairy, containing 3 to 4 mottled grayish seeds.

Habitat: Open, grassy areas, on limestone, in oak woodland

Bloom period: Apr-Jul

Elevation: 50-520 m

Bioregions: s SCoRO (San Luis Obispo Co.).

California counties: San Luis Obispo

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