Lupinus albifrons
| Lupinus albifrons | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Faboideae |
| Tribe: | Genisteae |
| Genus: | Lupinus |
| Species: | L. albifrons |
| Binomial name | |
| Lupinus albifrons Benth. |
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Lupinus albifrons, Silver lupine, white-leaf bush lupine, or evergreen lupine, is a species of lupine (lupin). It is native to California and Oregon, where it grows along the coast and in dry and open meadows, prairies and forest clearings. It is a member of several plant communities, including coastal sage scrub, chaparral, northern coastal scrub, foothill woodland, and yellow pine forest.
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[edit] Description
Lupinus albifrons is a perennial shrub, taking up about 2 ft (0.61 m) of space and reaching 5 ft (1.5 m). It has a light blue to violet flower on 3–12 inches (7.6–30 cm) stalks. The leaves are silver with a feathery texture.
[edit] Cultivation
This plant is kept as an ornamental and used for landscaping. It requires good drainage and needs little water once the roots are established.
[edit] Toxicity to livestock
The plant is deer-resistant due to the presence of the bitter-tasting alkaloid toxins anagyrine and lupinine.[1] Because of these toxins lupines can negatively affect livestock, causing birth defects and decreasing weight especially in young, unexperienced cattle.[1] When cows are under stress from lactating, especially in times of low forage availability, they will consume more lupine than usual.[1]
[edit] Mission blue butterfly
The federally-endangered mission blue butterfly requires either Lupinus albifrons, Lupinus formosus and Lupinus variicolor, on which their larvae feed[2]. The butterfly becomes toxic itself when it feeds on the plant, leaving it with a bitter taste to deter predators.
Due to its potential danger to livestock, this lupine is removed from rangeland when possible, eliminating a crucial food plant from the butterfly's range[citation needed].
[edit] Infraspecific taxa
Lupinus albifrons has five different varieties, three of which occur only in California, the other two occur in both California and Oregon:[3]
- Lupinus albifrons var. albifrons, silver lupine
- Lupinus albifrons var. collinus, silver lupine
- Lupinus albifrons var. douglasii, Douglas' silver lupine
- Lupinus albifrons var. eminens, silver lupine
- Lupinus albifrons var. flumineus, silver lupine.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Effects of Experience and Lactation on Lupine Consumption by Cattle
- ^ Essig Museum of Entomology
- ^ Plant Profile, Silver Lupine, Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lupinus albifrons |
