Purple Desert Lupine

Lupinus shockleyi is a species of flowering annual herbacious plant in the genus Lupinus (lupines) in the legume family Fabaceae. The species is canescent, meaning that it is covered in fine white hairs. It grows to heights between 5 cm (2.0 in) and 30 cm (12 in). The leaves, which are crowded at the plant's base, are cauline (attached to the main stem) by petioles which range between 4 cm (1.6 in) and 12 cm (4.7 in). There are between 8 and 12 leaflets to a petiole, with each measuring between 10 mm (0.39 in) to 30 mm (1.2 in) long and 4 mm (0.16 in) and 10 mm (0.39 in) wide. The species blooms from March to May in its native range. An inflorescence can range between 2 cm (0.79 in) and 6 cm (2.4 in) long, featuring spiraling flowers. The flowers measure between 4.5 mm (0.18 in) and 6 mm (0.24 in) across. The flower petals are a dark blue-purple color. On legumes, flowers have a typical petal arrangement where a large top petal (the banner) grows outside of the other petals prior to the flower opening and is flanked by two lateral petals (the wings), below which are two more petals (the keel). This flower arrangement developed to facilitate pollination. On L. shockleyi, the banner has yellow coloring and the keel takes a blunt shape. The species produces fruit that are between 1.5 cm (0.59 in) and 2 cm (0.79 in) long and between 8 mm (0.31 in) and 12 mm (0.47 in) wide. …

Lupinus shockleyi is found in southern California (where it can be found in the Mojave Desert), southern Nevada, and northwestern Arizona. It primarily inhabits deserts and dry shrublands, favoring open, sandy terrain. It is found at elevations below 2,000 ft (610 m) above sea level. Among the locations L. shockleyi can be found is Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in the Colorado Desert, where they can appear in populations exceeding a thousand individuals. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew's Plants of the World Online predicts the conservation status of L. shockleyi as not threatened with a confidence level of "confident".