Lupinus perennis Linnaeus var. gracilis (Nuttall) Chapman

Southern Sundial Lupine

Herb

Perennial

Vascular

Southern Sundial Lupine is a native herbaceous perennial in the Bean family (Fabaceae). It is native to the southern half of Alabama. Southern Sundial Lupine grows in sandhills, in scrub oak forests, and in sandy Longleaf pine woods. It is a perennial with a deep taproot or rhizome. Stems are erect, 12-18 inches in length, green in color, and pubescent to glabrous. The stems may be branched or un-branched. Leaves are alternate, petiolate, and palmately compound with 7-11 leaflets. The leaflets are oblanceolate in outline, pubescent below, with entire or ciliate margins. Flowers are produced in a terminal raceme. The flowers are papilionaceous and blue-purple in color. The fruit is a pubescent legume. Southern Sundial Lupine is a larval host plant for Frosted Elfin (Callophrys irus) and Wild Indigo Duskywing (Erynnis baptisiae) butterflies and several species of moths. Southern Sundial Lupine is occasionally available from native plant nurseries, usually as seed. The seed have a hard seed coat and seed should be scarified before planting. The seed should also be inoculated with Lupine specific rhizobia before planting. Because of its long taproot Southern Sundial Lupine does not transplant well and should be planted in its permanent location in the garden. It prefers a well-draining sandy soil in full sun.--A. Diamond

**

Native

**