WILDFLOWERS OF NEW MEXICO

This sand-loving flower has stems reaching 10-inches tall, often branching near soil level. Long, hairs cover the stem, leaves, and blue to purple flowers. Note the pea-like flowers on an elongated spike, and densely hairy pods constricted between the 2 seeds.

FLOWERS: April–July. Flower stalks (racemes) to 6 1/2-inches long (17 cm) with 4–38 flowers blooming from bottom up; bilaterally symmetrical, dark- to pale-blue or pinkish with 5 petals; upper banner petal with a central white-yellow spot, 2 wing petals, central keel with 2 fused petals. Fruit is a hairy pod 5/8-inch long  (1.5 cm) constricted between the two seeds.

LEAVES: Alternate. Palmately compound with 3–8 radiating leaflets 1/2–2-inches long (11–48 mm), upper surface mostly hairless, bottom and margins with long hairs.

HABITAT: Loose sand, dunes, roadsides; desert scrub, pinyon-juniper woodlands.

ELEVATION: 5,000–8,300 feet.

RANGE: Widespread west of the Mississippi River.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Also small and hairy, King’s Lupine, L. kingii, in the same nw range, has leaflets 3/8–1-inch long (10–23 mm) and hairy on both sides, and one-seeded pods. Shortstem Lupine, L. brevicaulis, has 1–2-seeded pods and 6–8 leaflets 3/8–5/8-inch long (10–15 mm), hairless on the upper surface and densely hairy on the bottom and edges.

NM COUNTIES: Mostly northern half of NM in mid-elevation, sandy habitats: Bernalillo, Cibola, Colfax, Dona Ana, Harding, Kos Alamos, McKinley, Mora, Rio Arriba, San Juan, Socorro, Sandoval, Union.