Lupinus milobakeri

Milo baker's lupine, Milo Baker's Lupine

Family: Fabaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.1

Milo baker's lupine is a rare (CNPS 1B.1) California native annual found in the northern Coast Ranges around Covelo, Mendocino County in woodland and grassland at elevations of 395 to 430 meters. Flowering from July to September, this plant produces blue to yellowish flowers 13 to 14 millimeters long in crowded whorls along dense inflorescences. Growing 1 to 2 meters tall with hard, rigid stems that appear glaucous and become increasingly glabrous with age, it develops a distinctive structure with persistent disk-like cotyledons. Its leaves feature 7 to 9 leaflets 10 to 30 millimeters long, typically hairy on the upper surface, with small stipules 3 to 6 millimeters long. The plant produces spreading ovate fruits 1 to 1.5 centimeters long, containing two dark brown, tubercled seeds.

Habitat: Woodland, grassland, open, disturbed sites

Bloom period: (Jun)Jul-Sep

Elevation: 395-430 m

Bioregions: NCoRO (Covelo, Mendocino Co.).

California counties: Mendocino, Colusa

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