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Summer Lupine
Lupinus formosus
  
14 Nurseries Carry This Plant

About Summer Lupine (Lupinus formosus) 14 Nurseries Carry This Plant Lupinus formosus, the summer lupine, is a member of the lupine genus Lupinus in the Fabaceae family. It is native to California. Lupinus formosus has been cited as a poisonous plant. Although it is not endangered it faces eradication in some areas at the hands of cattle farmers as it has been implicated in crooked calf disease. This lupine, along with five others, is poisonous from the time it starts growth in the spring until the seed pods shatter in late summer or early fall. However, the younger the plant the more toxic it is.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Perennial Herb

Size
Size
0.7 - 2.6 ft tall

Flower Color
Flower Color
Purple

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Summer, Fall

Wildlife Supported
 


 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 1 confirmed , 55 likely * ) SHOW ALL
Icaricia icarioides Image
Boisduval's Blue Icaricia icarioidesIcaricia icarioides
*
Vanessa cardui Image
Painted Lady Vanessa carduiVanessa cardui
*
Strymon melinus Image
Gray Hairstreak Strymon melinusStrymon melinus
*
Icaricia acmon Image
Acmon Blue Icaricia acmonIcaricia acmon
*
Colias eurytheme Image
Orange Sulphur Colias eurythemeColias eurytheme
*
Glaucopsyche lygdamus Image
Silvery Blue Glaucopsyche lygdamusGlaucopsyche lygdamus
*
Icaricia shasta Image
Shasta Blue Icaricia shastaIcaricia shasta

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun

Moisture
Moisture
Very Low

Nurseries
Nurseries
Carried by 14

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Slow

Common uses
Common uses
Bird Gardens, Butterfly Gardens, Bee Gardens

Propagation
Propagation?
For propagating by seed: Fresh seeds need no treatment. Stored seeds scarification or hot water.

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Dry clay soils, grassy places, open places, valleys

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 3.5" - 113.9", Summer Precipitation: 0.14" - 3.17", Coldest Month: 25.6" - 59.4", Hottest Month: 48.3" - 88.1", Humidity: 0.32" - 39.82", Elevation: 3" - 10481"

Alternative Names
Common Names: Western Lupine


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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


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