Bush lupine is a large, erect, woody-stemmed perennial shrub up to 5' tall with green branches.  The leaves are on 4" petioles and are palmately divided into 6-9 elliptic to oblong-oblanceolate leaflets that are slightly silky-pubescent on both surfaces.  The flowers are scattered to ± whorled on long 8"-16" racemes, papilionaceous, petals blue to violet, the banner glabrous and with a central yellowish spot, and the keel ciliate on the upper edges from middle to tip.  There are ten stamens fused into a tube surrounding the pistil, with long and short anthers alternating.  The fruit is a brownish to gray pod up to 2-1/4" long containing 6-8 seeds.  Bush lupine is most often found below 1500' in coastal sage scrub, chaparral and oak woodland from Baja to Ventura Co., blooming from April to June.  These pictures were taken in Santa Ynez Canyon in lower Topanga State Park.

Click here for Latin name derivations: 1) Lupinus 2) longifolius.
Pronunciation: loo-PIE-nus lon-ji-FO-lee-us.
Click here for Botanical Term Meanings.