General:
Low perennial herb from a sometimes branched stem-base; stems poorly developed, tufted or mat-forming, less than 10 cm long/tall, finely grey-hairy with short, appressed hairs.

Leaves:
Mostly basal on stalks 4-10 cm long, palmately compound; leaflets 5 to 7, oval to narrowly egg-shaped, 6-15 mm long, 3-5 mm wide, silky on both surfaces.

Flowers:
Inflorescence a dense, terminal raceme, 1-4 cm long, of pea-like flowers; corollas bluish, 7-9 mm long, the banner often darker-blue, oblong-elliptic to narrowly egg-shaped, glabrous and with a white central patch, the wings glabrous, the keel sparsely to densely fringed along the upper edges; calyces 2-lobed, the upper lip 2-toothed, the lower one entire.

Fruits:
Pods, 12-15 mm long, 5 mm wide, silky-hairy; seeds 1 to 4.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Illustration Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Lupinus lepidus subsp. lyallii
Lupinus lepidus var. lobbii