Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Lupinus obtusilobus is a species of lupine known by the common name bluntlobe lupine. It is native to high mountains of northern California, including the North Coast Ranges, the Klamath Mountains, and the northernmost Sierra Nevada. It grows in various types of mountain habitat, sometimes carpeting meadows with its purple blooms in the spring. It is a perennial herb growing erect or decumbent along the ground, its stem 15 to 30 centimeters long. Each palmate leaf is made up of 6 to 7 leaflets up to 5 centimeters long. The herbage is coated in silvery silky hairs. The flower cluster is a small raceme with a few whorls of flowers each just over a centimeter long. The flower is blue to purple with a yellowish patch on its banner. The fruit is a silky-haired legume pod up to 4 centimeters long.

Plant type

Perennial herb

Size

6 - 12 in Tall

Calscape icon
Color

Blue, Lavender, Purple

Sun

Full Sun

Water

Moderate

Soil drainage

Fast

Propagation

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

Site type

Gravelly summits

Plant communities

Lodgepole Forest, Red Fir Forest, Subalpine Forest

Hummingbirds
Bees
Butterflies

Pollinators supported

0 confirmed and 72 likely

  • Likely

  • Confirmed

Arrowhead Arctic Blue

Agriades podarce

Eastern Carder Bee

Anthidiellum notatum

Anthidiellum robertsoni

Sara Orangetip

Anthocharis sara