''Lupinus pusillus'', the rusty lupine or dwarf lupine, is an annual plant in the legume family ( fabaceae) found in the Colorado Plateau and Canyonlands region of the southwestern United States(California),Canyon Country Wildflowers, Damian Fagan, 2nd ed., 2012, Morris Bush Publishing, LLC. in cooperation with Canyonlands Natural History Association, and north to Montana.

Description

Growth pattern

It is an annual plant growing up to tall. "Pusillus'' is for the small size of the plant.

Leaves and stems

Leaves are compound

palmate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular ...

with 3-9 long inversely lance- shaped leaflets. Plant stems and leaf stems ( petioles) have long spreading hairs.

Inflorescence and fruit

It blooms from April to June. Flowers are in stalks of 4-38 and bluish to purple or bicolored, with a yellow spot on the upper

petal Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corolla''. Petals are usuall ...

. Seedpods are nearly

oval An oval () is a closed curve in a plane which resembles the outline of an egg. The term is not very specific, but in some areas (projective geometry, technical drawing, etc.) it is given a more precise definition, which may include either one o ...

and have constrictions separating the seeds.

Habitat and range

It can be found in

desert shrubland Deserts and xeric shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Deserts and xeric (ancient Greek xērós, “dry") shrublands form the largest terrestrial biome, covering 19% of Earth's land surface area. Ecoregions in this h ...

and

pinyon juniper woodland Pinon, Piñon, Piñón, or Pinyon may refer to: * Pinyon pine (piñon pine), a group of several species of North American pine trees (genus ''Pinus'') ** the edible pine nuts of these trees ** Pinyon-juniper woodland * the edible seeds of the Sout ...

communities, from as far north as

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, and throughout the southwest. When growing in reddish sand, the blue flowers make a striking contrast with the sun at a low angle.

Ecological and human interactions

It is pollinated by bees.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q12841444

pusillus {{Short pages monitor