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The photo at left shows a close-up of the keel of Asotin silky lupine as seen from Asotin County, southeastern Washington.......June 25, 2007. Note the numerous hairs lining the upper margin of the keel. The photo at right shows the inflorescence of Asotin silky lupine along Sourdough Creek, Asotin Wildlife Area and Umatilla National Forest.....June 16, 2023.
The photo at right shows a close-up of the flower of Asotin silky lupine as seen from Asotin County, southeastern Washington........June 25, 2007. Note that the erect banner sits well back of the midlength of the long wings.
The one to three erect flower stems of Asotin silky lupine rise from 20-50 cm high. They are usually unbranched or perhaps with several branches to the stem. The herbage is usually somewhat silvery or rust-colored from the numerous spreading to appressed hairs on the leaves and stems. The herbage is not however, as dense and silvery as that found in velvet lupine which may grow in the same habitats. The hairs are of two lengths. The leaves are mainly on the stems (especially at blooming times) with the lower petioles as much as 3 times longer than the leaf blades. The leaves become reduced in size on the upper stems with the petioles roughly the same length as the blades. The leaves are palmately-compound with 7-9 oblanceolate leaflets, each 3-6 cm long and 3-6 mm wide. Both the upper and lower surfaces of the leaflets are covered with ascending (but not perpendicular) hairs.
The inflorescence is an elongate raceme of fairly loosely arranged flowers. The racemes vary in length from 10-15 cm long. The flowers are largely a soft whitish or light yellowish color with 2 darker markings on the banner petal. The back of the banner is sparsely to densely haired with microscopic hairs. If sparsely haired on the back of the banner, the hairs may be found next to or under the upper lobe of the calyx. The calyx is silky with a deeply split calyx. The upper lobe is bidentated while the lower is entire. The banner is well reflexed from the keel with an index from 14-25. It also sits well back from the central portion of the elongated wings. The keel has ciliate hairs along much of its upper edge. The tip of the keel turns upwards slightly. The pods are silky, ranging in length from 2-3 cm long and about 1 cm wide. They contain 3-5 seeds.
Lupinus garfieldensis (formerly Lupinus sericeus var. asotinensis):
Subspecies sericeus var. egglestonianus:
Subspeices sericeus var. flexuosus (formerly variety fikeranus):
Subspecies sericeus var. maximus:
Subspecies sericeus var. sericeus:
Subspecies sericeus var. thompsonianus (formerly Lupinus latifolius var. thompsonianus):
Subspecies sericeus var. wallowensis:
Asotin silky lupine may be found on well drained soils on canyon slopes and ridges from the lowlands to moderate elevation in the foothills. It is most typically found amongst bunchgrasses on grasslands but may be found to the lower elevations of the ponderosa pine forest near 4000'.
Asotin silky lupine may be found south of the Snake River in Garfield and Asotin counties, as well as north of the Snake River in southern Whitman county. I am currently unsure whether it might be found in adjacent northeastern Oregon.
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