''Lupinus duranii'' is a species of lupine known by the common name Mono Lake lupine. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found else ...

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 m ...

, where it is known mainly from the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada in western

Mono County Mono County ( ) is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,195, making it the fourth-least populous county in California. The county seat is Bridgeport. The coun ...

. Its distribution includes

Mammoth Mountain Mammoth Mountain is a lava dome complex partially located within the town of Mammoth Lakes, California, in the Inyo National Forest of Madera and Mono Counties. It is home to a large ski area primarily on the Mono County side. Mammoth Mount ...

and the hills around

Mono Lake Mono Lake ( ) is a saline soda lake in Mono County, California, formed at least 760,000 years ago as a terminal lake in an endorheic basin. The lack of an outlet causes high levels of salts to accumulate in the lake which make its water a ...

, and its habitat has gravelly,

pumice Pumice (), called pumicite in its powdered or dust form, is a volcanic rock that consists of highly vesicular rough-textured volcanic glass, which may or may not contain crystals. It is typically light-colored. Scoria is another vesicular v ...

-rich soils of volcanic origin. It is almost identical to the nominate variety of Brewer's lupine, which occurs commonly in the same region. Besides the fact that ''L. breweri'' does not occur on pumice flats, the pair are difficult to separate.

Description

This is a tough, compact perennial herb forming tufts no more than about tall. The basal palmate leaves are made up of 5 to 8 shaggy-haired leaflets up to long. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

is a crowded raceme of flowers, each about a centimeter long and arranged in whorls about the stout, hairy stem. The flower is purple with a white patch on its banner. It yields a legume pod 1 centimetre or long containing white

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentPhoto gallery
duranii Endemic flora of California Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of Mono County, California Taxa named by Alice Eastwood {{Lupinus-stub