States
North CarolinaTennesseeGeorgiaSouth CarolinaKentuckyAlabamaFloridaVirginia
Menu

Blue Sandhill Lupine

Lupinus diffusus

Found in longleaf pine sandhills, sandy roadsides. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

77
Strong

Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 94%

Height
1.5–3 feet
Spread
2–3 feet
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Dry to average

Space about 2.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 16 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Biennial or perennial
Leaves
Evergreen
Bloom
March to May
Fruiting season
June to July

Recorded in 46 Florida counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 2

Sandhills

Dry, deep-sand ridges with longleaf pine and turkey oak, kept open by fire.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Florida. Shared habitat, not food. 79 animals.

All wildlife of Florida

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

27CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL

Genus host records with ranges including FL · Lupinus

  • Apantesis phylliraPhyllira Tiger Moth
  • Apantesis placentiaPlacentia Tiger Moth
  • Caenurgina crassiusculaForage Looper Moth, Clover Looper, Range Grass Moth
  • Caenurgina erechteaClover Looper Moth, Common Grass Moth, Forage Looper
  • Callophrys henriciHenry's Elfin
  • Celastrina neglectaSummer Azure
  • Colias eurythemeOrange Sulphur, Alfalfa Butterfly
  • Colias philodiceClouded Sulphur, Clover Butterfly
  • Cupido comyntasEastern Tailed-Blue
  • Elasmopalpus lignosellaLesser Cornstalk Borer
Show all 27
  • Euclidia cuspideaToothed Somberwing
  • Euxoa auxiliarisArmy Cut-Worm, Army Cutworm
  • Feltia jaculiferaDingy Cutworm
  • Gesta baptisiaeWild Indigo Duskywing, Baptisia Duskywing
  • Grapholita tristriganaThree-Lined Grapholita
  • Oedemasia concinnaRed-Humped Caterpillar, Red-Humped Appleworm
  • Seirarctia echoEcho Moth
  • Spodoptera dolichosSweetpotato Armyworm, Dolichos Armyworm, Large Cotton Armyworm
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
  • Strymon melinusGray Hairstreak
  • Trichoplusia niNi Moth, Cabbage Looper Moth
  • Uresiphita reversalisGenista Caterpillar, Genista Cbroom Moth
  • Utetheisa ornatrixOrnate Moth, Pink Underwing, Rattlebox Moth, Bella Moth
  • Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite
  • Vanessa virginiensisAmerican Lady, American Painted Lady
  • Walshia miscecolorellaSweetclover Root Borer Moth
  • Anacampsis lupinella
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
11BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Lupinus

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
1Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Lupinus

  • Megachile melanophaea
Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
11BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Lupinus

  • Alectoris chukarChukar
  • Antigone canadensisSandhill Crane
  • Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
  • Callipepla gambeliiGambel's Quail
  • Cyrtonyx montezumaeMontezuma Quail
  • Junco hyemalisDark-eyed Junco
  • Lagopus mutaRock Ptarmigan
  • Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
  • Melozone crissalisCalifornia Towhee
  • Zonotrichia atricapillaGolden-crowned Sparrow
Show all 11
  • Zonotrichia leucophrysWhite-crowned Sparrow
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Fabaceae
Hardiness
Zones 4a–10b
Soil pH
Acidic
Flower color
Blue or white
Fruit begins
June
Fruit ends
July

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Conservation status

Florida rankS4S5
Global rankG5
FL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

Will it fit your yard?

Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.

Choose a county to begin.

How to check your spot

Sources