Arroyo Lupine Seeds (Lupinus succulentus)
Among lupines, this is one of the great annual workhorse species of the west – notably from northern California, southward into Arizona. It’s a plant of improbable abundance. It’s a lepidopteran host plant supreme, sustaining caterpillars of the Melissa blue (Plebejus melissa), the sooty hairstreak (Satyrium fuliginosum), the Afranius duskywing (Erynnis afranius), the arrowhead blue (Glaucopsyche piasus), the western sulphur (Colias occidentalis), the shasta blue (Plebejus shasta), the Queen Alexandra's sulphur (Colias Alexandra), the Acmon blue (Plebejus acmon), and the Persius Duskywing (Erynnis persius) butterflies, as well as various marvelous moths such as Dryotype opina.
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Just a few of its known native bee associates are the lupine mining bee (Andrena lupinorum), the pale-faced mining bee (Andrena pallidifovea), the orange-banded mining bee (Andrena prunorum), the bear-like digger bee (Anthophora ursina), the indiscriminate cuckoo bumble bee (Bombus insularis), the striped mining bee (Andrena angustitarsata), the fuzzyhorned bumble bee (Bombus mixtus), Erhorn’s resin bee (Anthidiellum erhorni), the short mason bee (Osmia brevis), the bufflehead mason bee (Osmia bucephala), the blue mason bee (Osmia cyanella), the dense-haired mason bee (Osmia densa), Kincaid’s mason bee (Osmia kincaidii), the black-bearded mason bee (Osmia nigrobarbata), as well as a cadre of more cryptic and scarcely known visitors known only by archaic scientific names such as Andrena buckelli, Andrena chapmanae, Andena prolixa, Osmia cyanopoda, Osmia juxta, Osmia latisulcata, Osmia malina, Osmia morongana, Osmia nifoata, Osmia paradisica, Osmia sandhousae, Osmia trevoris, Protosmia rubifloris, and Megachile melanophaea.
Arroyo lupine is an annual species thriving in coastal valleys and low elevations west of the mountains, very much at home in disturbed soils, grasslands, and on open slopes. This is a plant that can bloom from February through May with tall spires of blue to violet flowers, often with pale banner markings, reaching 1–3 feet tall (decently tall for an annual!).
Exceptional on sunny slopes and washes, fast establishing, and quite reliable for early successional restoration, quick and easy pollinator gardens, roadside revegetation, and covering recently disturbed ground.
50+ seeds (1.5 grams).