Kincaid’s Lupine
Kincaid’s Lupine is recognizable by a perennial lupine with palmate leaves and blue-purple flower clusters, spreading through rhizomes.
Artwork inspired by Lillian Pitt
It occurs in native prairie and oak savanna in the Willamette and Umpqua valleys; combine anatomy, season, and habitat because a name or single photograph is not enough when related species overlap. Threatened and essential to Fender’s Blue Butterfly.
Never pick, dig, or enter restoration plots. April–June while flower spikes are visible. Look for perennial lupine with palmate leaves and blue-purple flower clusters, spreading through rhizomes.
- Primary range
- Oregon
- Habitat
- native prairie
- Status
- Threatened
Quick guide
- Look for colonies
- Rhizomatous patches may contain many stems.
- Link species
- Fender’s Blue caterpillars depend on this lupine.
Confirm Kincaid’s Lupine in habitat
- Growth form
- Perennial lupine with palmate leaves and blue-purple flower clusters, spreading through rhizomes.
- Leaf or stem
- Native prairie and oak savanna in the Willamette and Umpqua valleys.
- Habitat test
- From April through June, look for rhizomatous patches in remnant prairie and oak savanna without entering restoration plots.
- Document lightly
- Avoid picking, dig, or enter restoration plots.
Good to know
Threatened and essential to Fender’s Blue Butterfly. Protect Kincaid’s Lupine by observing a perennial lupine with palmate leaves and blue-purple flower clusters, spreading through rhizomes from durable ground, leaving native prairie and oak savanna in the Willamette and Umpqua valleys undisturbed, and sharing sensitive coordinates only with conservation staff.
Notice these
- A perennial lupine with palmate leaves and blue-purple flower clusters, spreading through rhizomes
- native prairie and oak savanna in the Willamette and Umpqua valleys
- April–June while flower spikes are visible