Lupinus pubescens
Native to the Andes from northwestern Venezuela to western Bolivia, this small subshrub in the pea family has a woody base and hairy stems and leaves. It grows up to about 2.5 feet tall, with narrow leaflets arranged like the fingers of a hand. Violet flowers with whitish markings grow in upright clusters, followed by hairy pods containing four to six seeds. In Ecuador, it occurs in mountain forests and pƔramo between about 6,550 and 13,100 feet. It is used as an ornamental and as green manure because its root associations help fix nitrogen in the soil. It has naturalized in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Photographed in the eastern Andes mountain range of Colombia.