Stats

Lifespan: Annual
Size: Medium
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Mediterranean chaparral
Range: North America
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Spines
Status: Uncommon

About

Stinging Lupine is a bristly annual wildflower native to California's chaparral and coastal sage scrub, covered in stiff, stinging hairs that give it its name — hirsutissimus means 'most hairy' in Latin. Its vivid magenta-pink flower spikes bloom in spring and are a favourite nectar source for native bumblebees.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

View on iNaturalist →

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Genus: Lupinus
Species: Lupinus hirsutissimus