Lupinus microcarpus var. densiflorus

Secund chick lupine

Family: Fabaceae · Type: annual · Native

Secund chick lupine is a California native annual found in northwestern California, Sierra Nevada foothills, Tehama County, Central Valley, central and eastern coastal areas, eastern southern California, Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges, Mojave Desert Mountains, and desert regions at elevations below 1,600 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces white to yellow flowers, often tinged with pink or lavender, with distinctive oblanceolate wing petals that have ciliate upper margins. Growing 10 to 30 centimeters tall with spreading inflorescences covered in short to long hairs, it forms dense clusters in open or disturbed areas. Its compound leaves are typical of lupines, with multiple leaflets arranged in a palmate pattern. The fruits are somewhat spreading and tend to cluster on one side of the flower axis, a characteristic feature of this variety.

Habitat: Abundant. Open or disturbed areas, occasionally seeded on roadbanks

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: < 1600 m

Bioregions: NW (exc Siskiyou Co.), SNF, Teh, GV, CW, e SCo, TR, PR, MP, DMtns, DSon.

California counties: Humboldt, Placer, Kern, Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Riverside, Monterey, Glenn, Butte, Tulare, Lake, Alameda, Tuolumne, Napa, San Joaquin, Fresno, San Benito, Marin, Santa Clara, Madera, Colusa, San Diego, San Bernardino, Ventura, Calaveras, Amador, Contra Costa, Yolo, El Dorado, San Mateo, Sacramento, Mariposa, Sonoma, Tehama, Yuba, Sutter, Trinity, Stanislaus, Solano, Nevada, Orange, Merced, Siskiyou, Modoc, Mendocino, Lassen, Shasta

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