Appearance
It is an evergreen shrub growing to 2 m tall in sheltered situations, but more typically 1–1.5 m tall. It has green to gray-green palmate leaves, with 5-12 leaflets per leaf. The leaflets are 2–6 centimetres long, often sparsely covered with fine silky hairs. In spring it bears many racemes, 30 cm long, of fragrant, soft yellow, pea-like flowers. Both yellow and lilac to purple flowering forms are known; however, the yellow form is more common, except in the north of the species' range. It is capable of tolerating temperatures down to -12°C and living for up to seven years.
Naming
It has escaped from cultivation to become an invasive species in many areas. Outside of its native range in North America, it is somewhat invasive both in southern California, and further north to southwestern Canada. It has also been introduced in western Europe, Australia , New Zealand, Anatolia Aegean Region of Turkey and southern South America, including the Falkland Islands.Like many members of the Fabaceae, it is an effective fixer of nitrogen in the soil. Where it has been introduced, it changes the chemistry of the soil, and therefore allows other exotics to establish themselves, to the detriment of native vegetation adapted to low nitrogen levels. It also hybridizes with other lupine species such as ''Lupinus littoralis'' and ''Lupinus rivularis'' , further endangering the survival of those forms.
A number of other related species of lupine also grow as bushes. They include:
⤷ ''Lupinus chamissonis'' Chamisso bush lupine, silver bush lupine
⤷ ''Lupinus albifrons'' Bush lupine
⤷ ''Lupinus excubitus'' Grape soda lupine
⤷ ''Lupinus longifolius'' Longleaf bush lupine
References:
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