Silvery Lupine – I have spent a lot of time in my retired life trying to identify the many wildflowers I have found during our travels around the country.
On this trip into the Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming, I made this image of a Lupine. I made a huge mistake in that I did not get enough photos of this plant to allow for 100% accurate identification. Once I got home and was able to take a long hard look at it and the photos and descriptions in my ever-growing stack of wildflower books I was frustrated to not be able to complete the identification.
I narrowed it down to either a Silvery Lupine or a Silky Lupine. Either is possible in the Big Horns and there is not a lot of difference in their appearance.
For my Texan friends, this is not a miss-identified Blue Bonnet.