Arizona lupine is a branched, somewhat fleshy annual from 12" to 24" tall with short-appressed and long-spreading hairs.  The leaves are glabrous above and villous beneath, and have 5-10 oblanceolate leaflets rounded at the apex.  The flowers appear in an elongated raceme to 12" long and are somewhat whorled.  The banner and wings are dark pink to magenta, drying to violet or whitish.  There is a yellowish spot on the banner which ages to a dark magenta.  The upper keel margins are glabrous, the lower ciliate near the tip.  The fruit is a legume slightly less than an inch long, 4-6 seeded, and coarsely hairy, and may predominate on one side of the inflorescence axis.  Arizona lupine blooms from March to May, and is common in open sandy washes in both the Mojave and Colorado Deserts below 2000'

Click here for Latin name derivations: 1) Lupinus 2) arizonicus.
Pronunciation: loo-PIE-us air-i-ZONE-i-kus.
Click here for Botanical Term Meanings.