Lupinus pusillus

Lupinus pusillus
Lupinus pusillus, Montana
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Plantae
Clade:Angiosperms
Clade:Eudicots
Clade:Rosids
Order:Fabales
Family:Fabaceae
Genus:Lupinus
Species: L. pusillus
Binomial name
Lupinus pusillus
Pursh
Lupinus pusillus in the Wyoming big sagebrush steppe biome, near Phillips, Montana.

Lupinus pusillus, the rusty lupine[1] or dwarf lupine, is an annual plant in the legume family (fabaceae) found in the Colorado Plateau and Canyonlands region of the southwestern United States,[2]:159 and north to Montana.

Description

Growth pattern

It is an annual plant growing up to 9 inches (23 cm) tall. "Pusillus is for the small size of the plant.[2]:159

Leaves and stems

Leaves are compound palmate with 3-9 1⁄2 to 1 1⁄2 inches (1.3 to 3.8 cm) long inversely lance- shaped leaflets.[2]:159

Plant stems and leaf stems (petioles) have long spreading hairs.[2]:159

Inflorescence and fruit

It blooms from April to June.[2]:159

Flowers are in stalks of 4-38 and bluish to purple or bicolored, with a yellow spot on the upper petal.[2]:159

Seedpods are nearly oval and have constrictions separating the seeds.[2]:159

Habitat and range

It can be found in desert shrubl and pinyon juniper woodland communities, from as far north as Washington, to California, and throughout the southwest.[2]:159

When growing in reddish sand, the blue flowers make a striking contrast with the sun at a low angle.[2]:159

Ecological and human interactions

It is pollinated by bees.[2]:159

References

  1. ↑ "Lupinus pusillus". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Canyon Country Wildflowers, Damian Fagan, 2nd ed., 2012, Morris Bush Publishing, LLC. in cooperation with Canyonlands Natural History Association, ISBN 978-0-7627-7013-7
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