Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Account for Large-leaved Lupine - Lupinus polyphyllus   Lindley
Members of Fabaceae:
Members of Lupinus with account distribution info or public map:
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Section 6 » Family Fabaceae
AuthorLindley
DistributionSo far, definitely known only from Madison County, photographed at Wolf Laurel on road banks. Photographed in 2022, but noticed several years previous by Taylor Barnhill.

Native to Pacific North America from AK to CA; commonly planted in Northeastern U.S. and Canada and well-established south to NY; disjunct to MD and NC.
AbundanceNC populations small, so far as known. In some places in the Northeast, this lupine has become invasive to meadows and fields.
HabitatOpen road banks. Expected to move into meadows and moist fields.
PhenologyLate May-June
IdentificationLarge-leaved Lupine is robust, flowering plants reach 1-2 feet tall. Leaves are very broad and have up to 13 leaflets arranged in a whorl. The flowering spike is about a foot long, composed of numerous blue flowers with a white eyespot. Escapes from cultivation range from pale pink to deep blue, or mixtures on the same plant.
Taxonomic Comments
Other Common Name(s)Many-leaved Lupine
State RankSE
Global Rank
State Status
US Status
USACE-agcp
USACE-emp
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Taylor BarnhillSame data MadisonPhoto_non_natural
Taylor BarnhillMadison County, road banks in Wolf Laurel, 2022. MadisonPhoto_non_natural
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