Summary ²

Skyblue lupine is a Florida native short-lived, perennial wildflower. It is found nearly statewide in sandy well-drained upland habitats including scrub, coastal strands, sand hills and pine flat woods. Skyblue lupine is classified as a sub-shrub, a low-growing shrub which never reaches more than three ft. tall, more typically, less than one and half ft. The plant will fall over and sprawl across the ground making the growth habit spreading. Its seed can lie dormant for years waiting to be released. When this happens, large areas can become dominated by this lupine for a few years. Typically, the first year is spent as a non-flowering seedling while a few flowers occur in year two. In the third year, individual plants may be several feet across. Blue and violet pea-like blooms are born on spikes rising from the center of the thick multiple stemmed foliage from February through March. The leaves are gray-green, lanceolate, and covered by silky hairs. The foliage is evergreen, though it often is eaten by moth caterpillars and may almost disappear for times due to this.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) t_kok, all rights reserved
2. (c) t_kok, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• eFloras.org
• Flora of North America (beta)
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos
• USDA PLANTS database
• World Flora Online

Range Map

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