Harlequin annual lupine facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Harlequin annual lupine |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Lupinus
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| Species: |
stiversii
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Lupinus stiversii is a special kind of lupine plant. People often call it the harlequin annual lupine or harlequin lupine. It got its scientific name from Dr. Charles Austin Stivers. He was an Army doctor who first found this plant in 1862. He discovered it near the famous Yosemite area.
Where This Plant Grows
Lupinus stiversii only grows in California. This means it is endemic to California. You can find it in different mountain ranges. It grows in the Sierra Nevada mountains and their foothills. You can also spot it in the Transverse Ranges near Los Angeles. Another place it lives is the Santa Lucia Mountains in Monterey County.
This lupine likes sunny, dry places. It often grows in areas called chaparral. These are places with shrubs and small trees. You can also find it in forest clearings. It likes exposed slopes too, where it gets lots of sun.
What the Harlequin Lupine Looks Like
The harlequin lupine is a fuzzy plant. It grows every year, so it's an annual herb. It can grow from about 10 to 50 centimeters tall. That's like 4 to 20 inches. It has a straight stem with branches.
Each leaf looks like a hand with fingers. It usually has 7 small leaflets. These leaflets are about 2 to 5 centimeters long.
The plant's flowers grow in a dense group. This group is called an inflorescence. Often, there are only one or two layers of flowers. Each unique flower is between 1 and 2 centimeters long. The flowers are pink with a bright yellow "banner" petal. After the flowers, the plant makes a fruit. This fruit is a legume pod. It is about 2 centimeters long. Inside, it usually holds 5 seeds.
