Spider Lupine (Lupinus benthamii)
Aliases: Bentham Lupine
With about twenty varieties of purple lupine growing in the Yosemite area, you can be forgiven for spotting one and not classifying it beyond the basic "that's lupinus, the pivotal genus in Monty Python's Dennis Moore sketch" that would be apparent to virtually anyone. With Spider Lupine, though, and its unique combination of range and size, you actually have a chance of nailing the species. Spider Lupine is a foothill flower, not growing much above 2,000 feet elevation, and at up to three feet tall, it towers over most other lupines in its area (note how it compares to the Sky Lupines surrounding it in the plant photo below). In short, if you see a tall lupine along the Hite Cove trail or in the Merced River Canyon and it's a single stem rather than a bush, you can be fairly certain it's Spider Lupine.
Blooms: March - May
Lifespan: Annual
Origins: Endemic to California (see distribution map)
Lupinus benthamii etymology: Lupinus derives from lupus, the Latin word for wolf - a peculiar heritage for a sedate and decidedly non-carnivorous flower. The Jepson Manual reports that it ultimately arose from a mistaken belief that lupines steal nutrients from the soil. Benthamii honors English botanist George Bentham (1800 - 1884), who was the nephew of famed English philosopher Jeremy Bentham and served as his personal secretary from 1826 until the latter's death in 1832. As such, he was undoubedly around to witness the process and results of his uncle's auto-icon - an episode too long to be retold here; instead, read Wikipedia's delightfully dry account, and if that raises your interest rather than your lunch, visit Buzzfeed for several photos of Bentham's head, which was deemed too "distastefully macabre" to display atop his shoulders.
This Photo: Along the Hite Cove trail, mid April
Other Resources: CalFlora · CalPhotos · USDA
