Lupinus polyphyllus var. burkei

Burke's lupine

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Burke's lupine is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, Transverse Ranges, San Jacinto Mountains, and Great Basin in wet habitats at elevations of 900 to 3,000 meters. Flowering from May to August, this plant produces purple to blue flowers in elongated clusters. Growing 55 to 120 centimeters tall with somewhat hollow stems that branch from an underground caudex, it forms a robust and distinctive woodland wildflower. Its compound leaves have 5 to 11 leaflets that are glabrous on the upper surface and occasionally sparsely hairy underneath, creating a rich green foliage. The upper keel of its flowers is generally glabrous, with only minimal ciliate edges.

Habitat: Wet places

Bloom period: May-Aug

Elevation: 900-3000 m

Bioregions: KR, CaR, SNH, TR, SnJt, GB

California counties: Mono, Tulare, Fresno, Butte, Nevada, San Bernardino, El Dorado, Riverside, Alpine, Yuba, Amador, Placer, Sierra, Modoc, Plumas, Siskiyou, Madera, Tuolumne, Shasta, Mariposa, Tehama, Inyo, Ventura, Lassen, Trinity, Calaveras, Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Kern

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