Lupinus pusillus
Lupinus pusillus | |
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Lupinus pusillus, Montana | |
Conservation status | |
![]() Secure (NatureServe)[1] | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Fabales |
Family: | Fabaceae |
Subfamily: | Faboideae |
Genus: | Lupinus |
Species: | L. pusillus |
Binomial name | |
Lupinus pusillus Pursh |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/Lupinus_pusillus_%287461163116%29.jpg/220px-Lupinus_pusillus_%287461163116%29.jpg)
Lupinus pusillus, the rusty lupine[2] 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),[3]: 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.[3]: 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.[3]: 159
Plant stems and leaf stems (petioles) have long spreading hairs.[3]: 159
Inflorescence and fruit
It blooms from April to June.[3]: 159
Flowers are in stalks of 4-38 and bluish to purple or bicolored, with a yellow spot on the upper petal.[3]: 159
Seedpods are nearly oval and have constrictions separating the seeds.[3]: 159
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.[3]: 159
When growing in reddish sand, the blue flowers make a striking contrast with the sun at a low angle.[3]: 159
Ecological and human interactions
It is pollinated by bees.[3]: 159
References
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- ^ NatureServe (2024). "Lupinus pusillus". Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
- ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Lupinus pusillus". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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