Lupinus perennis -- (Wild Lupine)
 |
Wild lupine, with its beautiful spikes of blue flowers, hosts the federally endangered Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis). Loved by butterflies, bees and hummingbirds. Lupine is drought tolerant. Lupine is a legume. Hence, its roots contain nodes with colonies of nitrogen fixing bacteria, enabling it to thrive in nutrient poor sand. Once established, this plant is beautiful. Lupine perennis is most at home in average to dry, sandy, acidic, well-drained soils. It can be found from Maine to Minnesota. |
