Lupinus peirsonii

Peirson's lupine, Peirson's Lupine

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.3

Peirson's lupine is a rare (CNPS 1B.3) California native perennial found in the southern inner coast ranges in loose gravel, montane conifer forest, pinyon and juniper woodland, and Joshua tree woodland at elevations of 1,000 to 2,500 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces yellow flowers 10 to 12 millimeters long with a banner back that is generally hairy. Growing 30 to 60 centimeters tall with erect, branched stems emerging just above ground, it forms a silver-silky perennial herb with a clustered base. Its leaves have 5 to 8 broadly oblanceolate leaflets, each 25 to 70 millimeters long and 10 to 30 millimeters wide, with stipules 15 to 20 millimeters long. The fruit is a silky pod 3 to 4 centimeters long, containing 3 to 5 seeds.

Habitat: Loose gravel, montane conifer forest, pinyon/juniper woodland, Joshua tree woodland

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: 1000-2500 m

Bioregions: SnGb.

California counties: Los Angeles, Riverside, Kern

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