Wild Lupine (Lupinus perennis)

https://www.prairiemoon.com/Lupinus-perennis-Wild-Lupine.html

Wild Lupine is one of my all time favorite wildflowers. It is beyond elegant in its foliage and flowers. The leaves are palmate multi-foliate that are very showy and beautiful to look at. The flowers different shades of bright blue, but can sometimes be pink, magenta, or dark purple. It adds a distinct flare to a prairie, especially after a fiery prairie flare. They are one of the first plants to come up after a fire along with fireweed. 

Wild Lupine likes to grow in mesic to dry sandy soils. This prairie plant is highly endangered because habitat for this plant has been highly disturbed and destroyed. It is uncommonly seen along the eastern part of the United States and Canada. It is more common in Canada because less of its habitat has been impacted. A site where it is seen is in the United States is in the Indiana Dunes where it grows in sandy dry soil.

This plant is not confused with any other plant in the eastern United States and Canada because there are no other plants that come close to its resemblance. Even plants in its family Fabaceae are easily distinguishable from this plant.

This plant is highly important for the highly endangered Karner Blue Butterfly because it feeds exclusively on it. It is amazing how a gorgeous bright blue butterfly feeds solely on one of the most beautiful blue prairie plants.

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