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Lupinus albifrons
Also called Foothill Lupine, Silver Bush Lupine
Silver lupine is a silver-leaved perennial shrub native to coastal and foothill California and Oregon, prized for its feathery foliage and blue-violet flower spikes. It needs excellent drainage and very little water once established.
Lupinus albifrons, silver lupine, white-leaf bush lupine, or evergreen lupine, is a species of lupine (lupin). It is native to California and Oregon, where it grows along the coast and in dry and open meadows, prairies and forest clearings. It is a member of several plant communities, including coastal sage scrub, chaparral, northern coastal scrub, foothill woodland, and yellow pine forest. Silver lupine is an important species for several animals throughout these ranges and shows high genetic and morphological diversity within these ranges.
This plant grows as a wildflower in the hills and valleys of California. It requires good drainage and needs little water once the roots are established. When grown with tall fescue, a common grass used in California/Western Coast lawns, L. albifrons was shown to have decreased above-ground growth due to competition with the grass for soil space. Conversely, it was shown that the presence of the lupine could aid the growth of the tall fescue.
Fresh seed of L. albifrons var. flumineus is said to need no stratification in order to germinate, while stored seed germination is aided by physical scarification or a hot-water treatment typical of many other leguminous plants.
The plant is deer-resistant due to the presence of the bitter-tasting alkaloid toxins anagyrine and lupinine. These toxins can negatively affect livestock, causing birth defects and weight loss, especially in young, inexperienced cattle. When cows are under stress from lactating, especially in times of low forage availability, they will consume more lupine than usual.
White Lupin · Lupinus anatolicus · Yellow bush lupine · Miniature lupine · European yellow lupine · Chick Lupine · Tarwi · Nootka lupine · Bigleaf lupine · Texas bluebonnet · Hollowleaf annual lupine · Texas lupine
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Lupinus albifrons by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
