Howling for Lupine on the California Coast
- Rowan Darko
- Dec 5
- 2 min read
One thing I did not expect to find when I set out on this early December afternoon was a patch of beautiful Lupine in bloom. These flowers typically bloom beginning at the peak of spring and lasting into the early summer.
Today, however, Garrapata State Park along the Central California Coast was boasting some beautiful blooms! It seems the rains a couple weeks ago along with the warm weather since then has caused these silvery-green bushes to bubble up with towering flowers.
Most species have purple to blue flowers that form towers of around 5 to 12 inches in height by my observations. The coastal variety has yellow blooms! A unique adaptation to the foggy coast. Just like yellow traffic signs and yellow fog lights on cars shine best through thick coastal fog, yellow flowers show through better to make their presence known to coastal pollinators.
There are over 200 species of Lupine throughout the world(1), and at least
70 in California (2). Using iNaturalist, I believe that I have managed to whittle the species of
these specimens down to the Chamisso Bush Lupine (Lupinus chamissonis) or Silver Bush Lupine (Lupinus albifrons).
Let me know if you know how to tell the difference!
While the seed pods of Lupinus species do look like edible pea species, it is a member of the family Fabaceae, DO NOT EAT the lupine seeds. Many species of Lupinus contain dangerous alkaloid toxins know as lupanine that can cause respiratory problems, coma, convulsions, and even death (3)
Have you seen any surprise blooms this winter?
Take a look at the map tab in my first source (iNaturalist) and see if you can find any Lupine species near you!
Lupines(Genus Lupinus). 2025. https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/47121-Lupinus#articles-tab
Lupinus arboreus. IPCW Plant Report. 2025 https://www.cal-ipc.org/resources/library/publications/ipcw/report60/
Manuel Ignacio San Andres Larrea. Encyclopedia of Toxicology (fourth edition). 2024 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/chapter/referencework/abs/pii/B9780128243152001433
Comments