hkibak's Identifications

Link to Lupine host plant observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/209373310

Lupine Aphid (Macrosiphum albifrons) “Aphids are small, soft-bodied insects, well known to gardeners and farmers because of their destructive feeding habits. Consistent characteristics that distinguish aphids are a pear-shaped body with a pair of tubular, hornlike projections near the posterior end. Aphids have the habit of discharging a sugary solution called “honeydew“. Large quantities of honeydew on and under plants with many aphids creates a sticky mess and a growth of black sooty mold. Ants are attracted to the honeydew and foster the spread of aphids by protecting them from predators and parasites. California has over 450 species of aphids.”

Field Guide to California Insects, by Kip Will, J. Gross, D. Rubinoff , J. Powell, 2nd ed., 2020, p. 161.

BugGuide: https://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Macrosiphum+albifrons

BugGuide: Arthropods: Photos of Insects, Spiders & Their Kin (US & Canada), clickable categories or use search bar (scientific name): https://bugguide.net/node/view/3/bgpage

Link to Lupine Aphid (Macrosiphum albifrons) that I noticed when I zoomed in on the Lupine keel detail at home: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/209387805

Chamisso Bush Lupine (Lupinus chamissonis) "Keel upper margins are glabrous, lower are +- ciliate" is the key characteristic for I.D. It blooms purple. (Coastal Bush Lupine has yellow flowers on the immediate and near coast. Coastal Bush Lupine flowers are purple (or a mix of yellow and purple) as you move inland. On the eastern side of Fort Ord Nat’l Monument, they are mostly purple.
Silver Bush Lupine (Lupinous albifrons) "is not reliably known on Fort Ord" INat Fred Watson https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/156364104"

Chamisso Bush Lupine (Lupinus chamissonis) California Endemic. A.k.a. Silver Beach Lupine, Beach Blue Lupine, Dune Bush Lupine, Dune Lupine. Native, perennial, silky-hairy plant that grows 0.5-2m (up to 78 inches) tall in sandy soil along most of the length of the Pacific coastline in sand dunes and other near coastal habitat. Stems are erect. Leaves are covered with densely appressed, silky hairs giving them a silver sheen with 5-9 leaflets. Petals are light violet to blue. Banner back is densely hairy. Keel upper margins are glabrous, lower are +- ciliate. Peak bloom time: February-May.

Jepson eFlora (with botanical illustration) https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=31831

Calflora (includes species distribution map in CA): https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=5125

Plants of Monterey County: an Illustrated Field Key, 2nd edition, Matthews and Mitchell, 2015, pp. 165-166.

Flora of Fort Ord: Monterey County, California, David Styer, 2019, p. 114.

Lupine I.D: Terminology/Characteristics by Tom Chester http://tchester.org/plants/analysis/lupinus/identification.html

Monterey County Wildflowers: a Field Guide, Yeager and Mitchell, 2016, p. 51.

Monterey County Wildflowers https://montereywildflowers.com/fabaceae-lupine-per/

Fort Ord A Love Story, Dorothy E. Denning, 2024 (1,000+ color photos)

5-minute video of Fort Ord Flora and Fauna, produced by David Styer: https://fortordcleanup.com/archives/2020/natural-treasures-of-fort-ord-90-amazing-photographs/

Leaf Shape and Arrangement diagrams: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Leaf_morphology.svg

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Legumes (Family Fabaceae) A.k.a. Pea family, has 5-petaled flowers, consisting of a wide upper banner petal, two wing petals, plus two lower petals which are fused to form a boat-shaped keel. Lupine plants produce heads or spikes consisting of multiple individual flowers. The fruit is a long, flattish pod, swollen by seeds, that splits lengthwise along the seam as fruit dries.

"Most lupines have distinct clusters of flowers in spikes, sometimes short, sometimes quite tall. Leaves are typically palmately compound, with leaflets ranging from very narrow to broad. It is useful to note whether the flowers are in whorls around the stem. It can also be critical to look at the keel, to see the pattern of hairs. Some are ciliate on both the top and bottom of the keel; some have hairs only near the claw (base), others only near the tip."
https://montereywildflowers.com/fabaceae-lupine-per/

Jepson eFlora
Key to Lupinus: https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_keys.php?key=9370
Taxon Page for Lupinus: https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=9370

Pictorial Guide to Some Characteristics Needed for Lupine Identification http://tchester.org/plants/analysis/lupinus/identification.html

Filter Keys pare Jepson Keys down to plants growing in your area, so you aren't dealing with all of California.
In the case of Lupines on the Central California Coast (CCo), that cuts it down to 19 possibilities: https://keybase.rbg.vic.gov.au/keys/show/3690?filter_id=6520da49e1811
Lupinus affinis
Lupinus albifrons var. albifrons
Lupinus albifrons var. collinus
Lupinus albifrons var. douglasii
Lupinus arboreus
Lupinus bicolor
Lupinus chamissonis
Lupinus concinnus
Lupinus formosus var. formosus
Lupinus hirsutissimus
Lupinus latifolius var. latifolius
Lupinus microcarpus var. densiflorus
Lupinus microcarpus var. microcarpus
Lupinus nanus
Lupinus nipomensis
Lupinus polyphyllus var. polyphyllus
Lupinus succulentus
Lupinus tidestromii
Lupinus truncatus

Lupine I.D. Tips and Links by INat @yerbasanta :
1) Reveal and photograph the keel petal (hidden within the wings) to document the hairs (if any) on the upper and lower surface along the entire length.
Keel image: https://tchester.org/plants/analysis/lupinus/pix/lupinus_formosus_g4_17_crop_70_label.jpg
2) Guide to documenting lupines in more detail (including calyx, banner spots, etc): https://tchester.org/plants/analysis/lupinus/identification.html#fig_1_caption