Nevada Lupine

Perennial, Herbs, Taproot present, Nodules present, Stems erect or ascending, Stems less than 1 m tall, Stems solid, Stems or young twigs sparsely to densely hairy, Stem hairs hispid to villous, Leaves alternate, Leaves petiolate, Stipules conspicuous, Stipules setiform, subulate or acicular, Stipules persistent, Stipules adnate to petiole, Leaves compound, Leaves palmately 5-11 foliate, Leaf or leaflet margins entire, Leaflets 5-9, Leaves hairy on one or both surfaces, Inflorescences racemes, Inflorescence term inal, Bracts conspicuously present, Bracts very small, absent or caducous, Bracteoles present, Flowers zygomorphic, Calyx 5-lobed, Calyx 2-lipped or 2-lobed, Calyx hairy, Petals separate, Corolla papilionaceous, Petals clawed, Petals blue, lavander to purple, or violet, Banner petal ovoid or obovate, Wing petals narrow, oblanceolate to oblong, Wing tips obtuse or rounded, Keel petals auriculate, spurred, or gibbous, Stamens 9-10, Stamens or anthers dimorphic, alternating large and small, Stamens monadelphous, united below, Filaments glabrous, Style terete, Fruit a legume, Fruit unilocular, Fruit freely dehiscent, Fruit elongate, straight, Fruit oblong or ellipsoidal, Fruit exserted from calyx, Fruit internally septate between the seeds, Fruit hairy, Fruit 3-10 seeded, Seeds ovoid to rounded in outline, Seed surface smooth, Seeds olive, brown, or black, Seed surface mottled or patchy.

Lupinus nevadensis is a species of lupine known by the common name Nevada lupine. It is native to the western Great Basin in Nevada and adjacent sections of Oregon and California, where it grows in sagebrush and other typical basin habitat. It is an erect perennial herb growing 10 to 40 centimeters tall. Each palmate leaf is made up of 6 to 10 hairy leaflets up to 5 centimeters long. The stem and herbage are coated in long hairs. The inflorescence is a spiral of flowers each around 1 centimeter in length. The flower is blue with a whitish patch on its banner and a curved keel. The fruit is a very hairy legume pod up to 4 centimeters long.