Family - Fabaceae

Stems - From taproots, erect to ascending, to 30cm long (tall), puberulent to sericeous, herbaceous, branching, multiple from base.

Leaves - Alternate, petiolate, stipulate, palmately compound. Stipules to +1cm long, attenuate, sericeous. Petiole to +17cm long, sericeous. Leaflets 12, oblanceolate, mucronate, entire, sessile, sericeous below, glabrous above, to +8cm long, 3cm broad.

Inflorescence - Dense terminal indeterminate raceme to 50cm long. Peduncle and axis densely pubescent. Pedicels to 1cm long, densely pubescent. Flowers subverticillate.

Flowers - Corolla papilionaceous, bicolored. Standard with margins reflexed, 1.5cm broad, white with pale yellow spot near center, glabrous. Wings connivent, inflated, enclosing the keel petals, 1.5cm long, pink, glabrous. Stamens 10, monodelphous. Filaments united for 6mm at base, free for 6-7mm. Anthers copper-colored. Style upcurved, 1.2mm long, glabrous. Ovary 1cm long, densely pubescent (the hairs multicellular), slightly compressed. Calyx bilabiate. Lower lip single lobed, 5-6mm long, 5mm broad at base, acute, sericeous, with prominent midrib. Upper lip saccate at base, 4-5mm long, 4mm broad at base, sericeous.

Fruit - Legume to -5cm long, 1cm broad, sericeous, compressed, with 6-9 seeds, with persistent style.

Flowering - June - August.

Habitat - Cultivated.

Origin - The genus has plants nearly worldwide. The plant shown is a hybrid.

Other info. - I know that you will not find this particular plant growing in the wilds of Missouri but its such a striking plant I thought I would include it. The long thick racemes of bicolored flowers are quite striking but reek of cultivation and hybridization. Personally I prefer the more rugged look of wild plants. Nonetheless, there are many very interesting cultivars of Lupinus out there. I'm not even going to guess at which cultivar the shown plant is. One nice website I found for hybrid Lupines is West Country Lupines in the U.K.. They have a great site with good pics and interesting graphics.
Remember, the descriptions given above are only for this particular cultivar. Every cultivar is different.

Photographs taken at the Caulfield residence, Platte County, MO., 7-15-00.