''Lupinus albifrons'', silver lupine, white-leaf bush lupine, or evergreen lupine, is a species of

lupin ''Lupinus'', commonly known as lupin, lupine, or regionally bluebonnet etc., is a genus of plants in the legume family Fabaceae. The genus includes over 199 species, with centers of diversity in North and South America. Smaller centers occur ...

e (lupin). It is

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, 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 Coastal sage scrub, also known as coastal scrub, CSS, or soft chaparral, is a low scrubland plant community of the California coastal sage and chaparral subecoregion, found in coastal California and northwestern coastal Baja California. It is w ...

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...

, northern coastal scrub,

foothill woodland Foothill woodland is a California vegetation type characterized by an overstory of broadleaf and coniferous trees, generally found in areas of higher elevations and more precipitation than grasslands and oak savannah, and at lower elevations and le ...

, and

yellow pine forest Ponderosa pine forest is a plant association and plant community dominated by ponderosa pine and found in western North America. It is found from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Coast Ranges in the Western United States and Western Canada. In ...

Description

''Lupinus albifrons'' is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

, taking up about of space and reaching . It has a light blue to violet flower on stalks. The leaves are silver with a feathery texture. It grows in sandy to rocky places below .

Cultivation

This plant grows as a wildflower in the hills and valleys of California. It requires good drainage and needs little water once the roots are established.

Toxicity to livestock

The plant is deer-resistant due to the presence of the bitter-tasting

alkaloid Alkaloids are a class of basic, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Some synthetic compounds of similar ...

toxins

anagyrine Anagyrine is a teratogenic alkaloid first isolated from (and named for) ''Anagyris foetida'' in the year 1885 by French biologists Hardy and Gallois. ''A. foetida'' (family Fabaceae), the Stinking Bean Trefoil, is a highly toxic shrub native to th ...

and

lupinine Lupinine is a quinolizidine alkaloid present in the genus ''Lupinus'' (colloquially referred to as lupins) of the flowering plant family Fabaceae. The scientific literature contains many reports on the isolation and synthesis of this compound as ...

.Effects of Experience and Lactation on Lupine Consumption by Cattle
/ref> Because of these toxins lupines can negatively affect livestock, causing birth defects and decreasing weight especially in young, inexperienced cattle. When cows are under stress from lactating, especially in times of low forage availability, they will consume more lupine than usual.

Mission blue butterfly

The federally endangered

mission blue butterfly The Mission blue (''Icaricia icarioides missionensis'') is a blue or lycaenid butterfly subspecies native to the San Francisco Bay Area of the United States. The butterfly has been declared as endangered by the US federal government. It is a su ...

requires either ''Lupinus albifrons'', ''

Lupinus formosus ''Lupinus formosus'', the summer lupine or western lupine, is a species of flowering plant in the legume family, Fabaceae. It is native to California and Oregon in the United States. ''Lupinus formosus'' has been cited as a poisonous plant. Al ...

'' and ''

Lupinus variicolor ''Lupinus variicolor'' (varied lupine, manycolored lupine, Lindley's varied lupine or varicolored lupine) is a shrub in the lupine ( lupin) genus ''Lupinus''. ''Lupinus variicolor'' is endemic to California where it occurs mostly along the nort ...

'', on which their larvae feed. 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 Rangelands are grasslands, shrublands, woodlands, wetlands, and deserts that are grazed by domestic livestock or wild animals. Types of rangelands include tallgrass and shortgrass prairies, desert grasslands and shrublands, woodlands, savannas ...

when possible, eliminating a crucial food plant from the butterfly's range.

Infraspecific taxa

''Lupinus albifrons'' has five different

varieties Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

, three of which occur only in California, the other two occur in both California and Oregon:Plant Profile, Silver Lupine
Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture *''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.

Photos

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment - ''Lupinus albifrons''CalFlora - Lupinus albifronsLady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center''Lupinus albifrons'' - Photo gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4118548 albifrons Flora of California Flora of Oregon Flora of the Klamath Mountains Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Garden plants of North America Drought-tolerant plants Butterfly food plants