Sunday, May 2, 2010

Coulter's Lupine or Mojave Lupine

Coulter's Lupine, Mojave lupine or arroyo lupine (Lupinus sparsiflorus),
has a pea-like flower that spirals around a hairy, upright flower spike.
Individual flowers have a brown-spotted, yellow and white banner spot that becomes magenta-tinged with age.
Petals curve upward and have a hairy fringe.  
The leaves are green and have 7 to 11 linear, narrow leaflets. The upper surfaces of the leaflets are covered in spreading and flat-lying hairs and are hairiest near the margins.
The plant, and particularly the seeds, are poisonous. These were photographed just off the highway in Arizona, somewhere between Buckeye and Gila Bend.

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