''Lupinus croceus'' is a species of lupine known by the common names saffron-flowered lupine and Mt Eddy Lupine. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the northernmost mountains of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, clustering in the

Klamath Mountains The Klamath Mountains are a rugged and lightly populated mountain range in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon in the western United States. As a mountain system within both the greater Pacific Coast Ranges and the California Coast R ...

, where it grows in generally dry, rocky habitat.

Description

This is an erect perennial herb growing tall. The hairy palmate leaves are made up of 5 to 9 leaflets each up to long. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

is a

raceme A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate growth, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are ...

of many flowers, sometimes arranged in whorls. Each flower is just over a centimeter long and bright yellow to orange in color. The fruit is a hairy

legume Legumes are plants in the pea family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seeds of such plants. When used as a dry grain for human consumption, the seeds are also called pulses. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consum ...

pod up to long. The petioles are 1-3 inches long. The hairy seeds are just more than 1 inch long. Its flowering period is in the months of June, July, and August.

Habitat and Distribution

Its habitat is dry woods in the counties of Siskiyou and

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

. It is found between the elevations of 5000–8000 feet or 900–2700 meters. Its communities include,

Yellow Pine Forest Ponderosa pine forest is a plant association and plant community dominated by ponderosa pine and found in western North America. It is found from the British Columbia to Durango, Mexico. In the south and east, ponderosa pine forest is the climax ...

, Red Fir Forest, and

Subalpine Forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

. It was most commonly found in June and July. 51% of the time it was found it was a preserved specimen, 29% of the time it was found it was an occurrence, and 20% of the time it was a human observation.

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentPhoto galleryTurner Photographics
croceus Endemic flora of California Flora of the Klamath Mountains Taxa named by Alice Eastwood Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Lupinus-stub