THE BUSH LUPINS OF CALIFORNIA

Evening Star, Issue 21742, 9 June 1934, Page 25

THE BUSH LUPINS OF CALIFORNIA

California ig a land of lupins, there being many annual and biennial varieties which feature prominently in. the spring floral display and cover hundreds of acres of waste land. Then there are the perennial types, and many of these are delightful little rock subjects, as well as from some thirty very decorative herbaceous plants, many of them of great beau,ty, Some species of the large , genus lupimis are to be found in almost every portion of California., but like the species of other native Californian genera are .exacting in their demands, and from the wide choice among the various climates of the State each seeks and seems ,able to. find a spot exactly meeting its requirements. Some are found growing in the deserts and some on the mountainous heights. The bush lupins have a very definite part in the year round landscape of California. Even though the silver-leaved species never bloomed they would be worth while for the beauty of their foliage and the neat ,shape of their low, rounded bushes. Like most plants which grow in sand,, the lupin has, a very long tap root, which serves as, a firm anchor in windswept areas. Some of the colourings are beautiful, ranging from pale blue to deep purple shades, ; and one, grey-leaved variety has spikes of lovely lavender flowers some IBin in length.