DACF Home → Bureaus & Programs → Maine Natural Areas Program → Communities, Plants, and Animals → Rare Plants → Lupinus perennis
Lupinus perennis L.
Wild Lupine
- State Rank: SX
- Global Rank: G5T4?
- State Status: Possibly Extirpated
Habitat: Dry open woods, clearings and openings
Range: Southern Maine to New York, south to Florida
Aids to Identification: Wild lupine is very similar to the common lupine (L. polyphyllus) that has naturalized itself in fields and on roadsides. Both have blue-purple to pale pink pea-like flowers and palmately compound leaves. Wild lupine has 7-11 leaflets, only reaching 5 cm in length, compared to the naturalized lupine which has 11-17 leaflets that reach 13 cm in length.
Ecological characteristics: One location of this plant was on a sandy shore of a pond.
Phenology: Flowering April through July
Family: Fabaceae
Synonyms: Represented in Maine and New England by ssp. perennis. No synonyms noted.
Known Distribution in Maine: This rare plant has been documented from a total of 3 towns in the following counties: Aroostook, Knox, Oxford
Reason(s) for rarity: At northern limit of range.
Conservation considerations: Unknown, has not been seen in Maine in several years. Possibly mistaken for the common, introduced lupine. Some populations may have succumbed to residential development.