Lupinus sulphureus
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| Lupinus sulphureus | ||||||||||||||||||
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 Lupinus sulphureus subsp. kincaidii
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| Lupinus sulphureus Douglas ex Hook. |
Lupinus sulphureus (Sulphur Lupine) is a species of lupine native to western North America from southern British Columbia south through Washington to Oregon. It is a perennial herbaceous plant growing to 40-80 cm tall. The leaves are palmately compound, with 7-13 leaflets, the leaflets 2-5 cm long. The flowers are produced in whorls on a spike 12-20 cm long.
There are three subspecies:
- Lupinus sulphureus subsp. kincaidii (Kincaid's Lupine; syn. L. oreganus subsp. kincaidii). Willamette Valley of Western Oregon as well as parts of South Western Washington. Flowers purple. Threatened.
- Lupinus sulphureus subsp. subsaccatus. Southern British Columbia south to Oregon. Flowers yellow.
- Lupinus sulphureus subsp. sulphureus. Eastern Washington and eastern Oregon. Flowers yellow.
Kincaid's Lupine is threatened in the wild. Fender's blue butterfly, an endangered species, needs this subspecies to survive. Its larvae eat the leaves during the fall then crawl down the stem and hide among the roots during the mild winters. In spring, the larvae re-emerge and eat more leaves then form cocoons. They metamorphasize and come out as the adult with brilliant blue wings.
