Lindsay again wrote today's entry:
Thank you to Claire Woods, aka buildingadesert@Flickr, for sharing today's photo (original image | Botany Photo of the Day Flickr Pool)!
Lupinus pilosus, commonly known as the blue lupine, is an Old World lupine, occurring from southern Greece through western Turkey to Israel. Its distribution broadly overlaps a second Old World lupine species, Lupinus palaestinus, but the two are never found in the same plant communities (allopatric). Both are species of edaphic environments, but Lupinus palaestinus is generally confined to the light soils of coastal Israel.
The two species are of taxonomic interest. Despite being similar morphologically and having an equal number of chromosomes, they have not produced any viable intermediate hybrids in nature. Research has indicated that the two species differ in pollination apparatuses, genic imbalances and partial reproductive barriers.
The color is magical!
Yes, amazing color.
a blue king in winter clothes....wow...so beautiful...!
that is so cool! and that shade of blue is beautiful!
I see the flower is capable of developing some rhodamine pigmentation, which changes the blue pigment into a brillint blue. The rhodamine also migrates to the petals tips.
As Monty Python always said, "Give me all your Lupins!"
The colour takes my breath away.
This photo is delicious!
I need this plant in my life. That blue!
this is very o'keefee is not
the links are fine thank you
I had the fortune of finding some seed from an Alaskan lupine (nootkanensis?)and it germinated and grew here in Sweden. We called it the lupine with a fur as the flowering tips had this wonderful wolly cover. So it has the same caracteristics
A Palestinian lupine - beautiful.
Absolutely beautiful. Such fine detail! Now I want to visit that area just to see this plant! Does someone know what time of year it flowers?
Now this is the kind of "Blue Monday" I like! Nice to luxuriate in the richness of the texture and color of this lupine.
What a beautiful royal blue, with swan like down feathers, I love it. Does anyone know if it would grow in the South West of Canada -too cold maybe.
Beautiful!
Linda - here in Southern California it blooms in the spring, along side of the golden poppies. I get to see them next to the freeway onramps & on the local hillsides, I think at their peak in April.
Greatly informative as usual, thank you BPotD!
zyx, The lupine you are seeing may be one of the many annual California native Lupines - succulentus is one of the more common ones. This one, however, keeps the same schedule. It germinated in the cooler part of the year, and grows and blooms from winter through spring, depending on when it is planted. Late sowings yield weaker, smaller plants. All produce fantastic fuzzy pods after flowering.
Seeds are very hard to come by!
What a gorgeous photograph! Lovely!
nice, this plant really made me happy !
Please reinstate me again. You have discontinued me again. I am forlorn.