Wild Lupine (Lupinus perennis)
Wild Lupine, what a great plant! It is an early bloomer with pea-like purplish flowers and attractive leaves. It is the host plant to the Eastern Tailed-Blue, Clouded Sulphur, the Duskywings, and 28 other species of butterflies and moths in our area (nwf.org) including the threatened Karner Blue (mnfi.anr.msu.edu), the Frosted Elfin (mnfi.anr.msu.edu), and the Persius Dusky Wing (mnfi.anr.msu.edu). It is also considered a highly attractive plant to pollinators by the Xerces Society (Xerces.org) including the specialist bees Habropoda laboriosa, Megachile melanophaea, and Osmia integra (Johnson and Colla, 2023). When the seedpods ripen, they kind of explode, helping to spread the love. Birds and small mammals will feed on the seeds.
Photo credit: John Blair (2-4)
Wild Lupine, what a great plant! It is an early bloomer with pea-like purplish flowers and attractive leaves. It is the host plant to the Eastern Tailed-Blue, Clouded Sulphur, the Duskywings, and 28 other species of butterflies and moths in our area (nwf.org) including the threatened Karner Blue (mnfi.anr.msu.edu), the Frosted Elfin (mnfi.anr.msu.edu), and the Persius Dusky Wing (mnfi.anr.msu.edu). It is also considered a highly attractive plant to pollinators by the Xerces Society (Xerces.org) including the specialist bees Habropoda laboriosa, Megachile melanophaea, and Osmia integra (Johnson and Colla, 2023). When the seedpods ripen, they kind of explode, helping to spread the love. Birds and small mammals will feed on the seeds.
Photo credit: John Blair (2-4)
Wild Lupine, what a great plant! It is an early bloomer with pea-like purplish flowers and attractive leaves. It is the host plant to the Eastern Tailed-Blue, Clouded Sulphur, the Duskywings, and 28 other species of butterflies and moths in our area (nwf.org) including the threatened Karner Blue (mnfi.anr.msu.edu), the Frosted Elfin (mnfi.anr.msu.edu), and the Persius Dusky Wing (mnfi.anr.msu.edu). It is also considered a highly attractive plant to pollinators by the Xerces Society (Xerces.org) including the specialist bees Habropoda laboriosa, Megachile melanophaea, and Osmia integra (Johnson and Colla, 2023). When the seedpods ripen, they kind of explode, helping to spread the love. Birds and small mammals will feed on the seeds.
Photo credit: John Blair (2-4)
Life Cycle: Perennial
Sun Exposure: Full, partial
Soil Moisture: Medium to Dry
Height: 2 feet
Plant Spacing: 10-18 inches
Bloom Time: May-July
Bloom Color: Purple
Advantages: Caterpillar Favorite, Pollinator Favorite, Bird Favorite, and Great landscaping plant
Host Plant: Karner Blue, Eastern Tailed-Blue, Clouded Sulfur, Duskywings, and 28 other species of butterflies and moths use this as a caterpillar host plant in our area (nwf.org)
Specialist Bee: Habropoda laboriosa, Megachile melanophaea, and Osmia integra (Johnson and Colla, 2023)
Beneficial for Endangered or Threatened Species: Karner Blue (mnfi.anr.msu.edu), Frosted Elfin (mnfi.anr.msu.edu), Persius dusky wing (Erynnis persius persius) (mnfi.anr.msu.edu)
Complementary Plants: Prairie Smoke, Butterfly Milkweed, Prairie Phlox, Wild Petunia, Prairie Pussytoes, Little Bluestem.
Resource: Johnson, Lorraine, and Sheila Colla. A Northern Gardener’s Guide to Native Plants and Pollinators: Creating Habitat in the Northeast, Great Lakes, and Upper Midwest. Island Press, 2023
