← Bedfellow

Valley Lupine

Lupinus vallicola

Valley lupine is a slender California annual that germinates with the winter rains and flowers from midwinter into spring, well ahead of most of the state's lupines. Its spikes are open and airy rather than dense, and the blue to purple flowers carry a pale patch on the banner petal that darkens once a flower has been visited — a signal to bees that the nectar is already gone. It fixes nitrogen through root nodules, which is how annual lupines make a living on thin foothill soils and why they leave the ground better for the grasses around them. Being annual it depends entirely on setting seed each year and on bare ground to germinate into, so it does best in meadows that are not densely thatched. Lupines are heavily used larval hosts for blues and hairstreaks. Sow it in fall so it can complete its cycle before the summer drought.

Family

Fabaceae

Type

wildflower

Lifespan

annual

Height

1–2 ft

Spacing

0.5–1 ft apart

Light

sun

Soil moisture

dry, moist

Soil pH

neutral, acidic

Bloom

January, February, March, April, May, December

Bloom colors

white, pink, blue, purple

Wildlife value

pollinators, butterflies, larval host

Caterpillar hosts

~35 butterfly & moth species

Landscape uses

border, container

Native states

CA, NV, OR