I36 PEA FAMILY 



Flowers less than l / 2 in. long. 

 Petioles longer than the leaflets. 



Stems \V 2 to 3 ft. high 8. L. albicaulis. 



Stems rarely over 1 ft. high. 

 Leaflets acute. 



Flowers blue or pink 9. L. confertus. 



Flowers nearly white; dwarf 10. L. danaus. 



Leaflets obtuse, silky; matted plant 11. L. breweri. 



Petioles mostly shorter than leaflets; erect white- 

 hairy plant; flowers not % in. long 12. L. mcionanthus. 



1. L. micranthus Dougl. Small-flowered Lupine. Stems 

 several from the base, leafy, 5 to 15 in. high, gray-pubescent. 

 Leaflets linear or linear-oblanceolate, J4 to 1 in. long, densely 

 gray-pubescent on both sides. Flowers scarcely Y^ in. long, 

 mostly in 3 to 6 whorls, blue or purplish, the banner with a 

 central white spot which changes to purple. 



Throughout the length of California, especially on the plains 

 and in the foothills, we find this to be the most abundant 

 lupine. In our district it ranges up to 4000 ft. alt., as in Yo- 

 semite Valley. A common form, or perhaps a distinct species, 

 is the var. bicolor Wats., known by its larger flowers {% to 

 Y% in. long) ; this is plentiful on the flats around Wawona and 

 along the Tuolumne River below 4500 ft. alt. The root-tuber- 

 cles are usually well formed in these annual species, indicating 

 their ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen through the aid of 

 bacteria, and in this way they enrich the soil in which they 

 grow, especially if plowed under at maturity. 



2. L. stiversii Kell. Stem much branched, leafy, 6 to 18 in. 

 high, finely pubescent. Leaflets obovate or wedge-shaped, 

 obtuse, Yz to \y 2 in. long, green and succulent, sparsely hairy. 

 Flowers fully l / 2 in. long, scattered in the raceme; banner 

 yellow, fading to salmon-color; wings rose-pink. 



In point of color, this is the most striking of all our lupines, 

 the large flowers being yellow in the center and with a bright- 

 pink or rose-color border. It always grows in warm, sandy or 

 gravelly places and is restricted to the western slopes of the 

 middle Sierra Nevada and a few localities in the Coast Ranges. 

 In our district it has been found sparingly from the foot of 

 El Capitan to El Portal, on several slopes near Wawona, on 

 Sawmill Mt., and near Hog Ranch. L. citrinus Kell., with pure- 

 yellow flowers, may be expected in similar situations. 



3. L. longipes Greene. A leafy bushy plant, 2 to 6 ft. 

 high. Leaflets 7 to 11, lanceolate, acute, 2 to 4 in. long, green 

 and little if at all hairy. Flowers about J/2 in. long, in elon- 

 gated racemes, blue or lavender, the banner with white center, 



