Lupinus pachylobus

Big pod lupine

Family: Fabaceae · Type: annual · Native

Big pod lupine is a California native annual herb found in northern coastal ranges, interior mountain ranges, Sierra Nevada, San Francisco Bay Area, and southern coastal ranges in open or disturbed grasslands and foothill woodlands at elevations below 600 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces blue flowers with white banner spots that darken to magenta with age, approximately 7 to 9 millimeters long and arranged in whorled clusters. Growing 15 to 40 centimeters tall with hairy stems, it develops an upright, delicate form. Its compound leaves have 7 leaflets, each 20 to 25 millimeters long and 2 to 5 millimeters wide, arranged on petioles 4 to 8 centimeters long. The fruit is a plump, densely hairy pod approximately 3 centimeters long and 6 to 9 millimeters wide, typically containing around 5 seeds.

Habitat: Uncommon. Open or disturbed areas, grasslands, foothill woodland

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: < 600 m

Bioregions: NCoRO, CaRF, SNF, SnFrB, SCoRO.

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