Lupinus argenteus (Silvery Lupine) - photos and description

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

General: Erect plants with a bushy, much-branched growth habit. Stems pubescent with appressed hairs. Foliage is light green to greyish-green in colour.

Flowers: In a long, cylindrical raceme, very showy, purple-blue in colour. We measured racemes to 25 cm long and  individual flowers to 1 cm long.

Leaves: Stems leafy, stem leaves alternate. Leaves are digitate, we measured a leaf at 6.5 cm diameter. We counted up to 8 leaflets, the leaflets are lanceolate, a leaflet was measured at 3.5 cm long and 5 mm wide. Leaflets with appressed, silky hairs.

Height: Listed in Budd's Flora to 60 cm, we measured plants to 90 cm tall.

Habitat: Grassy uplands in southwest Saskatchewan, particularly the Cypress Hills.

Abundance: Very rare, ranked as an S2 (as of 2021) by the Saskatchewan Conservation Data Centre.

Origin: Native.

When and where photographed: The above photos were taken on July 12th, centre and west blocks of the Cypress Hills Provincial Park, 450 km SW of our home in Regina, SK.