There have been several seeds known at different times as the oldest viable seed.
Lupinus succulentus is a species of lupine known by the common names hollowleaf annual lupine, arroyo lupine, and succulent lupine.
Lupinus andersonii is a species of lupine known by the common name Anderson's lupine.
Lupinus antoninus is a rare species of lupine known by the common name Anthony Peak lupine. It is endemic to northern California, where it is known from only four occurrences in the North Coast Ranges, including near Anthony Peak.
Lupinus argenteus is a species of lupine known by the common name silvery lupine. It is native to much of western North America from the southwestern Canadian provinces to the southwestern and midwestern United States, where it grows in several types of habitat, including sagebrush, grassland, and forests. This is a perennial herb growing erect to heights anywhere between 10 centimetres (3.9 in) and 1.5 metres (4.9 ft). It is sometimes silvery-hairy in texture and sometimes nearly hairless. Each palmate leaf is made up of 5 to 9 leaflets each up to 6 centimetres long. They are narrow and linear in shape, under a centimetre wide. The inflorescence bears many flowers, sometimes arranged in whorls. The flower is 5 millimetres (0.20 in) to 14 millimetres (0.55 in) long and purple, blue, or whitish in color. The banner, or upper petal, of the flower may have a patch of white or yellow. The fruit is a hairy legume pod up to 3 centimeters long containing several beanlike seeds. The plant is an important food source for butterflies. It also attracts birds and hummingbirds.
Lupinus benthamii is a species of lupine known by the common name spider lupine.
Lupinus brevicaulis is a species of lupine known by the common names shortstem lupine and sand lupine. It is native to the southwestern United States and Great Basin area and into northern Mexico, where it grows in many types of sandy habitat. This is a hairy annual herb growing nearly flat in a spread on the ground with a stem just a few centimeters long. An array of leaves encircles the base. Each palmate leaf is made up of 6 to 8 leaflets about a centimeter long and a few millimeters in width. The inflorescence is a petite spiral of flowers a few centimeters long just arising past the basal disc of leaves. Each flower is 6 to 8 millimeters long and bright blue in color, generally with a white or yellowish spot on its banner. The fruit is a hairy legume pod about a centimeter long containing 1 or 2 beanlike seeds.
Lupinus concinnus is a species of lupine known by the common name Bajada lupine. It is native to the southwestern United States from California to Texas, and northern Mexico, where it is known from many types of habitat. This is a hairy erect or decumbent annual herb with a stem growing 10 to 30 centimeters long. Each small palmate leaf is made up of 5 to 9 leaflets up to 3 centimeters long and under a centimeter wide, sometimes narrow and linear in shape. The inflorescence is a dense spiral of flowers, with some flowers also appearing in leaf axils lower on the plant. Each flower is 5 to 12 millimeters long and purple, pink, or nearly white in color. The fruit is a hairy legume pod around a centimeter long.
Lupinus duranii is a species of lupine known by the common name Mono Lake lupine. It is endemic to California, where it is known mainly from the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada in western Mono County. Its distribution includes Mammoth Mountain and the hills around Mono Lake, and its habitat has gravelly, pumice-rich soils of volcanic origin.
Lupinus flavoculatus is a species of lupine known by the common name yelloweyes, or yellow-eyed lupine.
Lupinus guadalupensis is a rare species of lupine known by the common name Guadalupe Island lupine. It is known only from San Clemente Island, one of the Channel Islands of California, and Guadalupe Island off the coast of Baja California. It is a member of the coastal scrub growing alongside other island endemics and more common plants. This is an annual herb growing 20 to 60 centimeters high. Each palmate leaf is made up of 7 to 9 narrow leaflets up to 5 centimeters long and just a few millimeters wide, sometimes linear in shape. The inflorescence bears whorls of flowers each about a centimeter long and blue in color with a white banner patch which may fade pink. The fruit is a very hairy legume pod up to 6 centimeters long and about one wide. It contains 6 to 8 seeds.
Lupinus hirsutissimus is a species of lupine known by the common names stinging annual lupine or stinging lupine. It is native to the coastal mountains of Baja California and Southern California as far north as the San Francisco Bay Area. It grows on dry mountain slopes, including areas that have recently burned, and chaparral and woodlands habitats.
Lupinus hyacinthinus is a species of lupine known by the common name San Jacinto lupine. It is native to the mountains of southern California and adjacent Baja California, where it grows in dry areas, often in pine forests. It is a perennial herb growing erect to a maximum height of one meter. It is hairy in texture, its newer herbage gray-green in color. Each palmate leaf is divided into up to 12 narrow leaflets up to 8 centimeters long and a few millimeters wide. The inflorescence bears whorls of flowers each over one centimeter long. The flower is purple or blue with a white to yellow patch on its banner. The fruit is a silky-haired legume pod 3 or 4 centimeters long containing speckled seeds.
Lupinus littoralis is a species of lupine known by the common name seashore lupine. It is native to the coastline of western North America from British Columbia to northern California, where it grows in sandy habitat. It is a low perennial herb or subshrub growing in a clump or mat no more than 30 centimetres (12 in) tall. Each palmate leaf is divided into 5 to 9 leaflets up to 3.5 centimetres (1.4 in) long. The herbage is coated in long, shaggy whitish or silvery hairs. The inflorescence is raceme of whorled flowers each around a centimeter long. The flower is purple in color with a white patch on its banner that fades pinkish. The fruit is a hairy legume pod 3 or 4 centimeters long containing up to 12 seeds.
Lupinus luteolus is a species of lupine known by the common names pale yellow lupine and butter lupine. It is native to the coastal mountain ranges of Oregon and California as far south as the Transverse Ranges, where it grows in open habitat such as clearings and sometimes disturbed areas. It is an annual herb with a rigid stem growing to maximum heights anywhere between 30 centimeters and 1.5 meters, and known to exceed that at times. Each palmate leaf is made up of 7 to 9 hairy leaflets 1 to 3 centimeters long. The inflorescence is a raceme of crowded whorls of flowers each just over a centimeter long. The flower is often pale to bright yellow, but can be blue or pinkish. The fruit is a hairy, rounded or oval legume pod generally containing 2 seeds.
Lupinus pratensis is a species of lupine known by the common name Inyo meadow lupine. It is endemic to California, where it grows in the central Sierra Nevada and adjacent plateau and valleys to the east. It grows in relatively moist habitat, such as streambanks and spring meadows. This is an erect perennial herb growing 30–70 centimetres (12–28 in) tall. Each palmate leaf is made up of 5 to 10 narrow leaflets sometimes exceeding 10 centimetres (3.9 in) long. The leaves are borne on long petioles which can reach 25 centimetres (9.8 in) in length. The herbage is green and coated in thin hairs. The inflorescence is a dense raceme of many flowers each around a centimeter long. The flower is dark blue or purple with a reddish or orange patch on its banner. The fruit is a hairy legume pod around 2 centimetres (0.79 in) long.
Lupinus rivularis is a species of lupine known by the common name riverbank lupine native to North America. It is also commonly known as river lupine, streambank lupine, and stream lupine.
Lupinus stiversii is a species of lupine known by the common names harlequin annual lupine and harlequin lupine. The plant was named for Army physician Dr. Charles Austin Stivers, who first collected it in 1862 near Yosemite.
Lupinus aridorum is a rare species of lupine known by the common name scrub lupine. It is endemic to Florida in the United States, where there were 10 known populations remaining in 2003. Fewer than 6000 individual plants were counted. It is threatened by the loss and degradation of its habitat. The scrub lupine is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.
Lupinus sericeus is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name silky lupine or Pursh's silky lupine. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Arizona and east to Alberta and Colorado.
