About Lupinus truncatus Nutt. ex Hook. & Arn.
Lupinus truncatus Nutt. ex Hook. & Arn. is an annual herb that grows no taller than 0.5 meters (1.6 feet). Each of its leaves is palmate, composed of 5 to 8 narrow, linear leaflets. These leaflets are 2 to 4 centimeters long and only a few millimeters wide. Most leaflets have truncate tips, meaning their ends look sharply cut off and squared off; this defining feature gives the species its scientific name. The plant's inflorescence is a raceme holding widely spaced flowers, each roughly one centimeter long. Each flower is magenta or reddish purple, with a yellowish or magenta patch on its banner. The fruit it produces is a hairy legume pod around 3 centimeters long and half a centimeter wide.