Soft lupines flowering alongside Halo Trail, Washoe County, Nevada

 soft lupine
soft lupine

Creamy white flower with yellow and blue tinges
Species information for the soft lupine (Lupinus malacophyllus) is scarce. According to the Nevada Natural Heritage Program website of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the soft lupine's distribution range includes Douglas, Lyon and Washoe County and Carson City. After some rainy days in late May, 2015, I found beautiful flowers of this low-growing plant alongside Halo Trail west of Keystone Canyon north of Reno, Washoe County, Nevada. In her “Tiny Natural World” blog-post entitled “Keystone Canyon botany,” Tara calls this locally endemic lupine species her favorite. Obviously, the richness of soft-lupine displays varies from year to year. Laird Blackwell—in his Tahoe Wildflowers guide—describes the soft lupine as occasionally occurring on dry, sandy flats in the Great Basin at low elevation. In particular, he mentions the area south of Peavine Mountain, where the Halo Trail is winding across foothill slopes. His very brief description continues: “short plant; soft-hairy leaves; creamy white flowers with yellow or blue tinges.” Short fuzzy hair growth can clearly be seen in the above picture; not only on the green palmate leaves, but also on parts of the dense flower whorl. The soft lupine, a member of the pea family (Fabaceae), is also known as jawleaf lupine. Note: on May 25, 2015, Wikipedia did not have an article on Lupinus malacophyllus. This species, however, was included in Wikipedia's Lupinus list.
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More to explore about soft lupines
▶ Tiny Natural World: Keystone Canyon botany
▶ Laird R. Blackwell: Tahoe Wildflowers
▶ Nevada Natural Heritage Program: Lupinus malacophyllus
▶ USDA: Lupinus malacophyllus Greene, jawleaf lupine