Patch of yellow eyes, Lupinus flavoculatus (32342689198)

Description:

Summary[edit] Description: yellow eyes, Lupinus flavoculatus, California, White Mountains, Deep Springs Valley drainage, elevation 1780 m (5840 ft). A nice healthy patch in the abundant 2017 rain year. The name yellow eyes refers to the bright color patch on the banner of each flower. This species is essentially endemic to the northeastern Mojave Desert of east-central California, southern Nevada, northwest Arizona, and southwest Utah, and extends barely into the adjacent southern Great Basin, reaching its northwestern limit here in the White Mountains. This species is often confused with Mojave lupine (Lupinus odoratus, which grows nearby on the west slopes of the White Mountains), but it differs sharply in its spreading hairs (versus none), purple instead of royal blue flowers, and dark green instead of yellow-green leaves. It is sometimes also confused with shortstem lupine (Lupinus brevicaulis), which has short leafy stems (versus leaves all basal), and much shorter flowering stems scarcely or not exceeding the foliage. Visible in this image too are Nevada Mormon tea (Ephedra nevadensis), spiny menodora (Menodora spinescens), Mojave aster (Xylorhiza tortifolia tortifolia), desert paintbrush (Castilleja chromosa), desert pincushion (Chaenactis stevioides), fiddlenecks (Amsinckia tesselata), yellowthroats (Phacelia fremontii), wingnut cryptantha (Cryptantha pterocarya), whitestem stickleaf (Mentzelia albicaulis), and desert purple mat (Nama demissa demissa). Just outside this view are also boxthorn (Lycium andersonii), hopsage (Grayia spinosa), bush peppercress (Lepidium fremontii), and Cooper goldenbush (Ericameria cooperi cooperi). Date: 2 May 2017, 08:54. Source: patch of yellow eyes, Lupinus flavoculatus. Author: Jim Morefield from Nevada, USA. Camera location37° 19′ 56.96″ N, 118° 05′ 51.04″ W View all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap 37.332488; -118.097512.