Not Lupines Again...?

During one of our recent forays into the California spring, where blue and purple phacelias grow with Goldfields, and pink Shooting Stars give way to sky blue Baby Blue-eyes, my wife and I discussed - with humor - my annual obsession with some new wildflower. While we were still gardening back in Ohio, I became engrossed in native mints. When Common Milkweed began to spread in our yard and the butterflies became more numerous, I became enamored with all things milkweedy. After seeing my first Bird's-foot Violet in Indiana, I began to search for other violets. Trilliums and orchids both caught my fancy in North Carolina.

Last year it was lupine. Lupine, lupine, lupine. It called to me like a voluptuous siren clad in a diaphanous gown, luring me to California. "Pssst," it cooed, "you with the green thumb and loose dirt, have you ever seen such blossoms?"

"No. Never," I replied hoarsely.

I discovered that California claimed an untold number of species of lupine among its native wildflowers, and I got to see many; so many, maybe there were no more to see. But now, a year later, standing in a field of Arroyo Lupine (Lupinus succulentus), my wife was again chuckling for I was beside myself with glee, daring to hope I might find something new this spring. "No way," she opined with humor.

...Way...

The last laugh has been mine, three times over. Maybe more. During visits to Topanga Canyon, San Diego County and Oceana, CA, I have stumbled upon three new lupines; Stinging Lupine (L. hirsutissimus), Collar Lupine (L. truncatus), and Yellow Bush Lupine (L. arboreus). There has also been a 4th lupine I have yet to pin an ID to.

All three of these lupines are kind of botanical black sheep in the family. They are the beatniks of the Cleaver clan; the hippies in the Nixon family tree. They are the free-thinkers of the violet-blue horde, taking their "lupine-ness" to another place.

Collar Lupine, with its square-tipped leaflets and few small flowers, is the quiet riot of the family. It grows to a about 2 1/2' tall and has flowers that range in color from violet to dark magenta on the same plant. It grows in grassy areas from the coastal mountains of southern California to Baja, lurking among the rest of the wildflowers, waiting to be noticed.

Stinging Lupine, at 3' tall and sporting brightly magenta flowers, is covered from head to toe with long stiff yellow stinging hairs. It too grows from southern California to Baja, but in woods and thickets.

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