Lupinus spectabilis

Shaggy hair lupine

Family: Fabaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

Shaggy hair lupine is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native annual found in central Sierra Nevada foothills of Mariposa and Tuolumne counties in serpentine chaparral and foothill woodland at elevations of 200 to 900 meters. Flowering from April to May, this plant produces distinctively blue flowers with white banner spots, typically 11 to 17 millimeters long, clustered in whorled arrangements. Growing with dense stems 20 to 60 centimeters tall, covered in short appressed and long spreading hairs up to 3.5 millimeters long, it presents a shaggy, textured appearance. Its compound leaves feature nine leaflets, each 10 to 40 millimeters long and 4 to 9 millimeters wide, supported by petioles 4 to 9 centimeters in length. The fruit is a densely hairy pod 3 to 5 centimeters long and 8 to 9 millimeters wide, containing 5 to 10 seeds.

Habitat: Serpentine, chaparral, foothill woodland

Bloom period: Apr-May

Elevation: 200-900 m

Bioregions: c SNF (Mariposa, Tuolumne cos.).

California counties: Mariposa, Tuolumne

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