''Lupinus nanus'', the sky lupine, field lupine, dwarf lupin, ocean-blue lupine or Douglas' annual lupine, is a species of

lupin ''Lupinus'', commonly known as lupin, lupine, or regionally bluebonnet etc., is a genus of plants in the legume family Fabaceae. The genus includes over 199 species, with centers of diversity in North and South America. Smaller centers occur ...

e native to the western

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is found natively in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, and on

Steens Mountain Steens Mountain is in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Oregon, and is a large fault-block mountain. Located in Harney County, it stretches some north to south, and rises from the west side the Alvord Desert at elevation of about to a ...

in eastern

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. It tends to grow on slopes and in open or disturbed areas below 1300 meters. It grows tall with blue flowers containing white or yellow spots. It is an

annual plant An annual plant is a plant that completes its life cycle, from germination to the production of seeds, within one growing season, and then dies. The length of growing seasons and period in which they take place vary according to geographical ...

that blooms in the months of March, April and May. It contains anagyrine and is considered toxic if directly ingested. Among the biologically active chemicals found in the plant are

genistein Genistein (C15H10O5) is a naturally occurring compound that structurally belongs to a class of compounds known as isoflavones. It is described as an angiogenesis inhibitor and a phytoestrogen. It was first isolated in 1899 from the dyer's bro ...

, 2'-hydroxygenistein,

luteone Luteone may refer to: * Luteone (isoflavone), a prenylated isoflavone found in the pods of ''Laburnum anagyroides.'' * Luteone (terpenoid), a twenty-three carbon terpenoid from the dorid nudibranch ''Cadlina luteomarginata.'' {{Chemistry ind ...

and

wighteone Wighteone is an isoflavone Isoflavones are substituted derivatives of isoflavone, a type of naturally occurring isoflavonoids, many of which act as phytoestrogens in mammals. Isoflavones are produced almost exclusively by the members of the bean f ...

Variation

''Lupinus nanus'' has a large genetic variability. There are three accepted

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of ''Lupinus nanus'': *''Lupinus nanus'' subsp. ''latifolius'' (Benth. ex Torr.) D.B. Dunn – Sky lupine *''Lupinus nanus'' subsp. ''menkerae'' (C.P.Sm.) D.B. Dunn (commonly called Menker's lupine) *''Lupinus nanus'' subsp. ''nanus'' Douglas ex Benth. – Sky lupine ''Lupinus nanus'' is often found in mixed populations with '' Lupinus bicolor'', '' Lupinus pachylobus'', ''

Lupinus micranthus ''Lupinus'', commonly known as lupin, lupine, or regionally bluebonnet etc., is a genus of plants in the legume family Fabaceae. The genus includes over 199 species, with centers of diversity in North and South America. Smaller centers occur ...

'', and ''

Lupinus vallicola ''Lupinus'', commonly known as lupin, lupine, or regionally bluebonnet etc., is a genus of plants in the legume family Fabaceae. The genus includes over 199 species, with centers of diversity in North and South America. Smaller centers occur ...

'' (some of these species are not currently recognized as distinct taxa in the

Jepson Manual ''The Jepson Manual'' is a flora of the vascular plants that are either native to or naturalized in California. Botanists often refer to the book simply as ''Jepson''. It is produced by the University and Jepson Herbaria, of the University of C ...

). In addition to the subspecies above, variations include * ''Lupinus nanus'' var. ''apricus'' (Greene) C.P.Sm. * ''Lupinus nanus'' var. ''carnosulus'' (Greene) C.P.Sm. * ''Lupinus nanus'' var. ''maritimus'' Hoover * ''Lupinus nanus'' var. ''perlasius'' C.P.Sm. * ''Lupinus nanus'' var. ''vallicola'' (A. Heller) C.P.Sm.

References

External links

USDA profile
of ''Lupinus nanus''
Photo gallery

nanus Nanus may refer to: * ''Nanus'' (beetle), a genus of true weevils * Susan Nanus, the scriptwriter for the 1998 '' A Will of their Own'' romantic drama TV mini-series aired on the NBC network * Fort Nanus in Goa, India * one of the main hybrid g ...

Flora of the Western United States Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Lupinus-stub