Lupinus microcarpus, the wide-bannered lupine or chick lupine, is a species of lupine native to western North America from southwestern British Columbia south through Oregon and California, including the Mojave Desert, and into Baja California. There is also a disjunct population in South America, with locations in central Chile and western Argentina.
Lupinus microcarpus is an annual plant growing to 80cm (30inches) tall. The leaves are palmately compound with 5-11 leaflets 1cm (00inches) - 5cm (02inches) long and up to 1cm (00inches) broad.
The flowers are generally pink to purple in color, but can also be between white and yellow; they are produced in open whorls on an erect spike.
Lupinus microcarpus grows from sea level in the north of its range, up to 1600m (5,200feet) high in Southern California.
There are three named botanical varieties:
Chilean scientists (Universidad de Santiago de Chile) studying phytoremediation waste management in the city of Antofagasta, discovered that plants are capable of absorbing arsenic from the soil.