Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Lupinus breweri is a species of lupine known by the common names Brewer's lupine and matted lupine. It is native to much of California, except for the deserts, and to adjacent sections of Oregon and Nevada, where it is common in some areas, particularly mountain forests. This is a hairy, mat-forming perennial herb, sometimes becoming like a shrub, with a woody base. The leaves spread out from the stem. Each palmate leaf is made up of 5 to 10 woolly leaflets each up to 2 centimeters long. The flower cluster is a dense raceme of flowers a few centimeters tall, each flower 4 to 11 millimeters long. The flower is blue or purple with a white or yellowish spot on the banner. The fruit is a silky-hairy legume pod 1 or 2 centimeters long.

Plant type

Perennial herb

Size

8 in Tall

Calscape icon
Color

Blue, Lavender, Purple

Flowering season

Summer

Sun

Full Sun, Partial Shade

Water

Moderate

Propagation

For propagating by seed: Fresh seeds need no treatment. Stored seeds scarification or hot water.

Site type

Open places

Plant communities

Alpine Fell-Fields, Lodgepole Forest, Red Fir Forest, Subalpine Forest, Yellow Pine Forest

Hummingbirds
Bees
Butterflies

Pollinators supported

2 confirmed and 168 likely

  • Likely

  • Confirmed

Yellow-faced Bumble Bee

Bombus vosnesenskii

Boisduval's Blue

Icaricia icarioides

Angelic Sweat Bee

Agapostemon angelicus

Arrowhead Arctic Blue

Agriades podarce

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Buckwheat

Fagopyrum esculentum

Sunflower

Helianthus annuus

Alfalfa

Medicago sativa

Parsley

Petroselinum crispum