, Family Pea (Fabaceae) Height Varies Color Varies Flowers Typical of Pea family with typical banner, wing, and keel Blooms Spring Leaves Palmate Habitat Varies     Lupinus is Latin for "wolf" and is so named because this plant was once thought to deplete or "wolf" the mineral content from soil. Actually, plants from the Lupine Family are extremely hardy and some of the few that can grow in this difficult soil. They, in fact, enhance soil fertility by fixing atmospheric nitrogen into a useful form.[1] Lupine's unusually shaped leaves are described as palmate -- like the palm of your hand. Most are quite hairy. There are many varieties of lupine and they range in size from just a few inches hight to large, woody bushes. caption: file: x - square 0" x 0" at 300 dpi - release: contact us regarding image add image to lightbox References [1] http://www.nps.gov/archive/prsf/nathist1/wildflowers/blues/bicolor_lupine.htm Alden, Peter, and Fred Heath. National Audubon Society Field Guide to California. New York: Knopf, 1998. Beidleman, Linda H., and Eugene N. Kozloff. Plants of the San Francisco Bay Region: Mendocino to Monterey. Berekeley, CA: University of California, 2003. Munz, Philip A. Introduction to California Spring Wildflowers of the Foothills, Valleys, and Coast. Eds. Dianne Lake and Phyllis M. Faber. Berekeley, CA: University of California, 2004.