Have you ever smelled purple? Well, purple is the fragrance you will smell if you should ever happen to find yourself in a field filled by a most beautiful flower, called the Lupine, genus Lupinus, which grows throughout California. The Lupine family of flowers are related to the larger order of plants called the Leguminosae, which is the Pea family. This order of plants is one of the most valuable plants known to man worldwide. Not only does it contain the garden variety pea, but we find that the bean, lentil, alfalfa and clover are also part of this family. These plants provide food for man and animals in every corner of the globe.
      Although the lupine doesn't act as a food source for man, the incredible fragrance of some of the 15 varieties which grow in California can be inspirational, at the very least. There is nothing quite like the overwhelming sweet smell of an entire hillside or field of lupine as is sways and dances, bees humming, in the bright sunlight of a spring day. The thick smell can intoxicate the imagination.
    Different species of Lupine are attracted to a variety of different landscape and habitat types throughout California and the West. Some of these lovely flowers grow in abundance in the fertile soils of the Central Valley, others take root only in

the sandy soils along the San Francisco coast. Still others wave and dance on the eastern and western slopes of the Sierras. The Lupine family grows in a variety of colors, ranging from white to whitish pink, and from blue all the way to purple. It is the purple varieties of this plant that are most fragrant and attract the most attention. Some of the purple varieties of the Lupine are the Lupinus breweri, Lupinus excubitus and Lupinus polyphyllus superbus, all of which are found in and around the mountainous regions of California.
      The Lupine is characterized by a low laying leafy clump which can be  up to 3-4 feet in height. Leaves have from 5 to 9 leaflets and can appear silvery. The flowers grow in profusion on stems which shoot forth from the sometimes woody base of the plant and spire into the sunshine. Flowers can be from 1 inch to slightly less than 1/2 inch in length and grow alternately along the stem. Some clusters can be nearly 12 inches in length with 20 or more fragrant purple blooms on each stem.

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