Lupinus grayi is a species of lupine known by the common name Sierra lupine. It is endemic to California,[1] where its distribution extends the length of the Sierra Nevada and its foothills and includes the Tehachapi Mountains.

Lupinus grayi
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Genus: Lupinus
Species:
L. grayi
Binomial name
Lupinus grayi

It is a common plant of the mountain forests, where it sometimes carpets meadows with its woolly green herbage and purple flower spikes. This is a low, prostrate perennial herb forming spreading mats 20 or 30 centimeters high. Each palmate leaf is made up of 5 to 11 leaflets up to 3.5 centimeters long.

The inflorescence bears dense whorls of flowers each just over a centimeter long. Each flower is purple or blue with a yellow or reddish patch on the banner. The fruit is a hairy legume pod which is up to 3.5 centimetres (1.4 in) in length.

References

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  1. ^ "Sierra lupine". USDA. Plants Profile. Retrieved September 1, 2009.
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