Southwest Colorado Wildflowers, Lupinus

In hot dry areas, some species of Lupine may be sparse, short, and have few flowers; in moist woods other Lupine become luxuriously bushy, tall, with numerous flowers. Lupines have a long flowering period and they are one of the most eye-catching flowering plants in the Four Corners area. (They also provide magnificent displays in many other areas, e.g., the Blue Bonnets of Texas and the Bush Lupine of the California coast). In the Four Corners, look for some Lupines such as L. caudatus flowering in March and April and others such as L. argenteus flowering into September. All of the Four Corners Lupines have numerous (often dozens of) blue/purple, five-part flowers making up long (often numerous) racemes.

Because they hybridize, exact species identification of Lupines is often exceedingly difficult: Intermountain Flora states, "The taxonomy of the small-flowered perennial lupines is notoriously difficult. No sexual incompatibilities interfere with free genesis of fertile hybrids which blur the already precarious distinctions...." Utah flora expert Stanley Welsh says, "The genus [Lupinus] is notoriously difficult because of lack of clear diagnostic features."

Linnaeus named this genus in 1753. "Lupinus" (Latin for "Wolf") was so named because of the erroneous belief that the species degraded land.

Lupinus ammophilus. Synonym: Lupinus polyphyllus. (Lupine)
Fabaceae (Pea Family)

Foothills. Woodlands, openings. Spring, summer.
Mesa Verde National Park (with the snow-capped La Plata Mountains in the background), May 31, 2004.

Lupinus ammophilus prefers sandy soils, blooms in the spring, and fades and withers by summer. It is common and quite showy in dense patches along the road in Mesa Verde National Park. A close inspection shows the characteristic blue flowers but often with white at or near the tip of each flower.

"Ammophilus" is Greek for "sand loving".

Lupinus ammophilus. Synonym: Lupinus polyphyllus. (Lupine)
Fabaceae (Pea Family)

Foothills. Woodlands, openings. Spring, summer.
Mesa Verde National Park, May 31, 2004.

Lupinus argenteus (Lupine)
Fabaceae (Pea Family)

Foothills, montane, subalpine. Meadows, openings. Summer.
Robertson Pasture Trail, Abajo Mountains, Utah, May 31, 2006.

Lupinus argenteus tolerates dry sunny areas where it spreads to several feet wide but to only a quarter of the three foot height of the plant pictured at left in a moist meadow. Leaves are broad on long petioles and flower clusters usually begin above the leaves. Cronquist in Intermountain Flora lists dozens of synonyms for Lupinus argenteus and recounts the great difficulty in establishing its heritage, present distribution, and exact identification.

"Argenteus" is Latin for "silvery".

Meriwether Lewis collected the first specimen of this plant "on the banks of the Kooskoosky [now Clearwater] River" in Montana probably in 1806. (Quotation from Intermountain Flora.) Frederick Pursh named the plant in 1814.

Lupinus argenteus (Lupine)
Fabaceae (Pea Family)

Foothills, montane, subalpine. Meadows, openings. Summer.
Robertson Pasture Trail, Abajo Mountains, Utah, May 31, 2006.

Beauty prevails from early buds to individual flower to cluster of flowers to seed pods.