Sundial Lupine
Lupinus perennis
77
Strong
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 1–2.5 feet
- Spread
- 6 inches–1 foot
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist
Space about 1 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 100 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- Spring and summer
Not yet recorded · Leaves
Recorded in 55 Virginia counties.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
29CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · 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
- Callophrys irusThe Hoary Elfin, Bog Elfin?, Frosted Elfin
- Celastrina neglectaSummer Azure
- Colias eurythemeOrange Sulphur, Alfalfa Butterfly
- Colias philodiceClouded Sulphur, Clover Butterfly
- Cupido comyntasEastern Tailed-Blue
Show all 29
- Elasmopalpus lignosellaLesser Cornstalk Borer
- Euclidia cuspideaToothed Somberwing
- Feltia jaculiferaDingy Cutworm
- Gesta baptisiaeWild Indigo Duskywing, Baptisia Duskywing
- Glaucopsyche lygdamusSilvery Blue
- Grapholita tristriganaThree-Lined Grapholita
- Hydraecia immanisHop Borer, Hop Vine Borer
- Oedemasia concinnaRed-Humped Caterpillar, Red-Humped Appleworm
- Papaipema insulidensRagwort Stem Borer
- 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
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
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
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 3a–8b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to neutral
- Flower color
- Blue, pink, purple or white
What its natural habitat tells you
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Spring and summer” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Flower color · “Blue, pink, purple or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Hardiness · “Zones 3a–8b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “1–2.5 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Minnesota Wildflowers differs)
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain differ)
- Soil · “Good drainage; Moist; Occasionally dry; Very dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; NC Extension Plant Toolbox, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain differ)
- Soil pH · “Acidic to neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “6 inches–1 foot” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S4S5 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
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.
Sources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- 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
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications