Lupinus nipomensis

Lupinus nipomensis is a species of lupine known by the common name Nipomo Mesa lupine. It is endemic to the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes on the California Central Coast. Specifically, the plant is limited to the Guadalupe Dunes at the southern border of San Luis Obispo County. There are five to seven colonies growing in a strip of sand dunes measuring less than 3 square miles (8 km2) in area. These colonies are generally considered to make up a single population. The number of individual plants remaining has been observed to vary between 100 and 1,800, its abundance is not correlated to precipitation, is highly variable and exact mechanisms driving abundance unknown. This is a California state and federally listed endangered species. Nipomo Mesa lupine is a small, spreading annual herb with a stem reaching 10 to 50 centimeters (4 to 20 in) in length. Each palmate leaf is made up of 5 to 7 narrow, succulent leaflets 1–1.5 cm (0.4–0.6 in) long and just a few millimeters wide. The herbage is ha......read more on Wikipedia.