Lupinus pusillus, the rusty lupine 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(California),Canyon Country Wildflowers, Damian Fagan, 2nd ed., 2012, Morris Bush Publishing, LLC. in cooperation with Canyonlands Natural History Association, and north to Montana.
Description
Growth pattern It is an annual plant growing up to tall. Pusillus is for the small size of the plant.
Leaves and stems Leaves are compound palmate with 3-9 long inversely lance- shaped leaflets.
Plant stems and leaf stems (petioles) have long spreading hairs.
Inflorescence and fruit It blooms from April to June.
Flowers are in stalks of 4-38 and bluish to purple or bicolored, with a yellow spot on the upper petal.
Seedpods are nearly oval and have constrictions separating the seeds.
Habitat and range It can be found in desert shrubland and pinyon juniper woodland communities, from as far north as Washington, to California, and throughout the southwest.
When growing in reddish sand, the blue flowers make a striking contrast with the sun at a low angle.
Ecological and human interactions It is pollinated by bees.
References