Clover Lupine
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Sacramento Fish & Wildlife Office

Species Account

CLOVER LUPINE
(Lupinus tidestromii)

CLASSIFICATION: Federal Endangered Species (Federal Register 57:27848; June 22, 1992) 

CRITICAL HABITAT:  None designated

RECOVERY PLAN: Recovery Plan for Seven Coastal Plants and the Myrtle’s Silverspot Butterfly (pdf). September 30, 1998.

DESCRIPTION:

Clover lupine (Lupinus tidestromii), which is also known as Tidestrom's lupine, is a member of the pea family (Fabaceae). It is a low (< 1 foot), prostrate perennial herb which occurs only on sand dunes of the central California coast. The fan shaped leaves have 3-5 narrow leaflets, each less than 1 inch long. The stems and leaves have short hairs. The yellow roots are distinctive. The small (< ½ inch) blue to lavender flowers are in whorls at the end of stems, and are pollinated by bees.

Bright yellow roots, prostrate habit, small leaflets and dense hairs on the foliage distinguish clover lupine from lupines of coastal dunes (e.g. Lupinus variicolor, L. littoralis, L. chamissonis, L. arboreus). Some botanists distinguish between Pt. Reyes clover lupine (L. tidestromii var. layneae) and Tidestrom's lupine (L. tidestromii var. tidestromii). The Jepson Manual, the standard reference on the higher plants of California, treats L. tidestromii as a single, variable species, called Tidestrom's lupine (Hickman 1993) in General Information about California Plants, below.

Fruits are pea-like pods containing 5-8 seeds bean-like seeds with blackish spots. Because the large seeds have a hard seed coat, and because related lupine species are known to have long-lived dormant seed banks (e.g. L. arboreus), it is likely that clover lupine also has a persistent seed bank, and may retain viable populations at some sites where it is not recorded. Seeds are probably dispersed by explosive dehiscence (bursting of the seed pods) and rolling, or rarely by tidal erosion and deposition. 

DISTRIBUTION:

Lupinus tidestromii occurs from sea level to 25 feet on partially stabilized coastal dunes from the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey County northward to the Pt. Reyes Peninsula in Marin County. There is an isolated colony on the south bank of the Russian River near its mouth in Sonoma County. The southernmost population is located at Pebble Beach in Monterey County. Several of the occurrences on the Monterey Peninsula are on remnant dunes in the yards of private residences. Preliminary field studies suggest that L. tidestromii may be widespread locally within Pt. Reyes dune system. 

THREATS:

Loss of habitat due to development, trampling by hikers and equestrians, and livestock grazing. Many sites are also threatened by invasion of nonnative species, such as iceplant and European beachgrass. Some major populations at Point Reyes National Seashore, Asilomar State Park and Pebble Beach are protected by land use restrictions.

STATE & CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY STATUS:

This species was listed as endangered by the California Department of Fish and Game in January 1987 under the name Tidestrom's lupine. The California Native Plant Society has placed it on List 1B (rare or endangered throughout its range), also as Tidestrom's lupine.

REFERENCES FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Clark, R. A. and G. M. Fellers. 1986. Rare plants of the Point Reyes National Seashore. Cooperative National Park Resources Studies Unit, Tech. Report. No. 22. University of California, Davis.

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. 1992. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Six plants and Myrtle's Silverspot Butterfly from Coastal Dunes in Northern and Central California Determined to be Endangered. Portland, OR.

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. 1998. Recovery Plan for Seven Coastal Plants and the Myrtle's Silverspot Butterfly (pdf). Portland, OR.

General Information about California Plants

Photo by Beatrice F. Howitt, ©California Academy of Sciences, Calphoto ID: 8235 3181 2553 0086

Prepared by Endangered Species Div., Sacramento Fish & Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

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