''Lupinus sulphureus'' (sulphur lupine, sulphur-flower lupine) is a species of lupine, a flowering plant of the

legume Legumes are plants in the pea family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seeds of such plants. When used as a dry grain for human consumption, the seeds are also called pulses. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consum ...

family,

Fabaceae Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...

Description

It is a

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

plant growing to 40 to 80 cm tall. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are palmately compound, with 7 to 13 leaflets each 2 to 5 cm long. The

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s are produced in whorls on a spike 12 to 20 cm long.

Taxonomy

There are three

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

: *''Lupinus sulphureus'' subsp. ''kincaidii'' (Kincaid's lupine; syn. ''L. oreganus'' subsp. ''kincaidii'').

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east, the ...

of western Oregon and parts of southwestern Washington. Flowers purple.

Threatened A threatened species is any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which is vulnerable to extinction in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensatio ...

. *''Lupinus sulphureus'' subsp. ''subsaccatus''. Southern British Columbia south to Oregon. Flowers purple. *''Lupinus sulphureus'' subsp. ''sulphureus''. Eastern Washington and eastern Oregon. Flowers yellow.

Distribution and habitat

It is native to western

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

from southern

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

south through

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

Ecology

Fender's blue butterfly, an endangered species, is host-specific on Kincaid's lupine. Its larvae eat the leaves during the fall and spend the winter among the roots. In spring, the larvae continue to feed on the leaves before

pupa A pupa (; : pupae) is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their life cycle, the stages th ...

ting.

References

External links

''Lupinus sulphureus''.
Plants of British Columbia.
''Lupinus sulphureus''.
Burke Museum. University of Washington. sulphureus Flora of British Columbia Flora of Oregon Flora of Washington (state) {{Lupinus-stub