Lupinus benthamii
Encyclopedia
Lupinus benthamii is a species of lupin
e known by the common name spider lupine. It is endemic to central California
, where it is known from the Central Coast Ranges across the Central Valley into the Sierra Nevada foothills. It is common in some areas, covering hillsides with its blue blooms in the spring. This is a hairy annual herb growing 20 to 70 centimeters tall. Each palmate leaf is made up of 7 to 10 leaflets each up to 5 centimeters long. They are narrow and linear in shape, just a few millimeters wide. The inflorescence
is an erect raceme
of flowers up to 30 centimeters tall, the flowers sometimes arranged in whorls. The flower is between 1 and 2 centimeters long and bright to deep blue in color, generally with a white or pink spot on the banner, or upper petal. The fruit is a hairy legume pod about 3 centimeters long.
Lupin
Lupinus, commonly known as Lupins or lupines , is a genus in the legume family . The genus comprises about 280 species , with major centers of diversity in South and western North America , and the Andes and secondary centers in the Mediterranean region and Africa Lupinus, commonly known as Lupins...
e known by the common name spider lupine. It is endemic to central California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where it is known from the Central Coast Ranges across the Central Valley into the Sierra Nevada foothills. It is common in some areas, covering hillsides with its blue blooms in the spring. This is a hairy annual herb growing 20 to 70 centimeters tall. Each palmate leaf is made up of 7 to 10 leaflets each up to 5 centimeters long. They are narrow and linear in shape, just a few millimeters wide. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is an erect raceme
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
of flowers up to 30 centimeters tall, the flowers sometimes arranged in whorls. The flower is between 1 and 2 centimeters long and bright to deep blue in color, generally with a white or pink spot on the banner, or upper petal. The fruit is a hairy legume pod about 3 centimeters long.