[Lupines East of the Cascade Mts. of Oregon and Washington]
Meadow Lupine, Rock Lupine, Stony-ground Lupine
Lupinus polyphyllus var. saxosus
Synonyms: Lupinus saxosus, Lupinus saxosus var. saxosus, Lupins saxosus var. subsericeus, Lupinus subsericeus
The photograph above shows stony-ground lupine as seen along Cowiche Mill Road, several miles west of Yakima, WA................March 28, 2007.
The
photo at right shows a close-up sideview of the calyx and corolla of stony-ground
lupine as photographed along Cowiche Canyon Road to the west of Yakima, WA............March 28, 2007.
Characteristics:
Also known as meadow or rock lupine, stony-ground lupine is
an attractive perennial wildflower of shorter stature than many perennial lupines.
It consists of several to many spreading to erect stems that are generally unbranched
and measure from 15-40 cm long. Plants often appear wider than tall. The herbage
of the stems consists of long spreading hairs. The stems especially may appear
brownish in color (See photo above.) The basal leaves have long petioles measuring
up to 14 cm long and which are covered with long-villous hairs. The 8-12 leaflets
are oblanceolate in outline with acute to rounded tips, and they measure from
2-4 cm long and 6-10 mm wide. The upper surface of the leaflets is green and
ranges from glabrous to sparsely hairy while the ventral surface of the leaflets
consists of long, somewhat appressed hairs.
The close-flowered racemes generally measure from 5-10 cm long
in flower, 3.5-4.5 cm wide, and up to 15 cm long in fruit. The stout pedicels
measure from 5-8 mm long while the calyx is hairy (See photos.) with the upper
lip cleft at least one-third of its length (often more than one-half its length
(See photo below.). The petals are 14-18 mm long with the broad wings longer
than the keel. The standard or banner is well reflexed back from the wings and
keel, with a banner index of from at least 10-15. Flowers are bright blue with
some purple highlights while the front of the banner is whitish or yellowish,
sometimes marked with purple. The keel is ciliate-margined.
The banner index is obtained by measuring the distance of the
wings (from their distal tip to the point of intersection with the banner) and
multiplying that by the measurement of the front of the banner (from its distal
dip to its intersection of the wings).
Habitat:
Stony-ground lupine may be found on shallow, rocky soils on
open scablands or grasslands or amongst sagebrush or juniper. It is also found
on basalt rimrock or in open ponderosa pine woods. It is most often found below
elevations of 1800 meters.
Range:
A widespread species in western North America, stony-ground lupine may be found
east of the Cascade Mts. from north-central Washington south through central
and eastern Oregon to northern California and east to Nevada and south to the
northern Great Basin.
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Additional close-up photos of stony ground lupine as seen along Mabton Road at the high point east of Bickleton, WA, where the road begins to descend towards Mabton, WA..........April 18, 2010.
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The photograph at left shows stony-ground lupine as seen along Cowiche Mill Road, several miles west of Yakima, WA............March 28, 2007. The photo at right shows stony-ground lupine bloomingadjacent to private grazing lands along Forest Road 16 about 2 miles north of Elkhorn Campground, Maury Mountains.......April 27, 2018.
The photo at left shows a close-up of the keel of stony-ground lupine. Note the minute hairs lining the upper edge of the keel. In the close-up of the back
of the banner note the upper calyx lobes which are split about one-third the length
of the calyx in this case. All photos are from along Cowiche Mill Road west of Yakima, WA..........March 28, 2007.
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Additional close-up photos of stony-ground lupine as seen along US Highway 97 at a pass about a dozen miles northwest of Ellensburg, Washington..........June 9, 2011. Note the oblanceolate shape of the leaflets (broadly acute tips) with spreading hairs on both surfaces and the reddish stems with spreading hairs.
Stony-ground lupine beginning to bloom along FS Road 16 near Big Creek Campground in Logan Valley, Malheur National Forest...........June 5, 2011.
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Stony-ground lupine blooming along the Gray Butte Trail #852 on the west side of Gray Butte, Crooked River Grasslands..........May 20, 2017.
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Stony ground lupine observed along the north rim of Rock Creek canyon on BLM lands to the south of Box Canyon Road. Just south of the Simcoe Mountains Unit of the Klickitat Wildlife Area......April 15, 2021.
Stony-ground lupine fading out of bloom along the Fremont National Recreation Trail #160 at about 7350' on the western slopes of McDowell Peak, Fremont-Winema National Forest.......June 26, 2019.
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The photograph at left shows stony-ground lupine as seen at the high point along Lonerock Road between Condon, OR and Lonerock, OR............May 1, 2004. Note that this lupine often appears wider than tall. The photo at right shows stony-ground lupine in bloom along the Chimney Rock Trail, Lower Crooked Wild and Scenic River (BLM).......May 10, 2018.
The photo above shows a typical view of stony-ground lupine as seen along US
Highway 97 about 1 mile north of Shaniko, OR............April 18, 2004.
Paul Slichter
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