Lupinus argenteus

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Lupinus argenteus
Lupinus argenteus - Sarah Allen 01.jpg
In Iron County, Utah
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Genus: Lupinus
Species:
L. argenteus
Binomial name
Lupinus argenteus
Subspecies and varieties [2]
List
    • L. a. subsp. argenteus
    • L. a. var. fulvomaculatus
    • L. a. var. laxiflorus
    • L. a. var. moabensis
    • L. a. var. myrianthus
    • L. a. var. palmeri
    • L. a. var. parviflorus
    • L. a. var. rubricaulis
    • L. a. subsp. spathulatus

Lupinus argenteus is a species of lupine known by the common name silvery lupine. It is native to much of western North America from the southwestern Canadian provinces to northernmost Mexico and as far east as the Great Plains. It grows in several types of habitats, including sagebrush, grassland, and forests.

Contents

Description

Lupinus argenteus is a perennial plant with one or more stems that that usually grow 15 to 70 centimeters (0.5 to 2.3 ft) tall, but occasionally can be as short as 10 cm (4 in) or as tall as 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in). The stems branch towards their ends or have short spurs and are green or somewhat purple in color. [3] They are covered with hairs that can be puberulent, fine short and erect, or strigose, straight and all pointing in the same direction. [4] The stems grow from a root-crown at the surface of the soil or shallowly burried. [3]

The leaves can appear green, ashy, or canescent , nearly white in color, due to either being hairless or covered in hairs on their upper surface. [3] Most of the leaves are cauline, attached to the stems of the plants. Each leaf is palmate, made up of leaflets radiating from a central attachment point, with six to nine leaflets for this species and attached by a petiole 1.5–8 cm long. [5]

The flowers are in racemes that can be 4 to 30 centimeters (1.6 to 11.8 in) long, but more usually 5 to 25 cm (2 to 10 in). They are either solitary at the end of stem or one larger one at the end of the stem with smaller racemes branching off below the primary, or several nearly equal in size. [6] The flowers are typically blue-purple, but occasionally are lavender, pink, or white, but with a white or yellow spot on the uppermost banner petal that turns red-purple as the flower ages. [7]

The fruit is a pod that is densely hairy containing two to six seeds and measuring 2–3 cm by 0.6–0.9 cm. [6]

Taxonomy

Lupinus argenteus was scientifically described by Frederick Traugott Pursh in 1813. It is part of the genus Lupinus in the family Fabaceae. [2] He described it using specimens collected by Meriwether Lewis in an area he described as, "On the banks of the Kooskoosky River". This is now named the Clearwater River which forms the present day western Montana boarder with Idaho. [8]

Varieties and subspecies

There are two accepted subspecies and seven accepted botanical varieties of Lupinus argenteus. [2] [9] Each of these infraspecifics has one or more accepted synonyms. [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18]

Table of Synonyms
NameYearRankSynonym of:Notes
Lupinus abiesicolaC.P.Sm.1944speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus acclivatatisC.P.Sm.1944speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus achilleaphilusC.P.Sm.1952speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus adscendensRydb.1903speciesvar. parviflorus= het.
Lupinus alexanderaeC.P.Sm.1944speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus alicanescensC.P.Sm.1952speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus aliumbellatusC.P.Sm.1952speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus allimicranthusC.P.Sm.1942speciesvar. parviflorus= het.
Lupinus alpestrisA.Nelson1899speciesvar. parviflorus= het.
Lupinus alpestris var. argentatus(Rydb.) C.P.Sm.1940varietysubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus alsophilusGreene1900speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus alturasensisC.P.Sm.1942speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus annieaeC.P.Sm.1944speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus argenteus f. albiflorusB.Boivin1960formsubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus argenteus subsp. ingratus(Greene) Harmon1972subspeciesvar. fulvomaculatus= het.
Lupinus argenteus subsp. moabensisD.B.Dunn & Harmon ex S.L.Welsh1978subspeciesvar. moabensis= het., pro syn.
Lupinus argenteus subsp. parviflorus(Nutt. ex Hook. & Arn.) L.Ll.Phillips1955subspeciesvar. parviflorus≡ hom.
Lupinus argenteus subsp. rubricaulis(Greene) L.W.Hess & D.B.Dunn1970subspeciesvar. parviflorus≡ hom.
Lupinus argenteus var. argentatus(Rydb.) Barneby1989varietysubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus argenteus var. aristatovatusC.P.Sm.1940varietysubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus argenteus var. boreus(C.P.Sm.) S.L.Welsh1978varietysubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus argenteus var. decumbens(Torr.) S.Watson1873varietysubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus argenteus var. sericeusCockerell1888varietysubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus argenteus var. stenophyllus(Rydb.) Davis1952varietysubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus argenteus var. tenellus(Douglas ex G.Don) D.B.Dunn1955varietyvar. laxiflorus= het.
Lupinus blankinshipiiA.Heller1908speciesvar. parviflorus= het.
Lupinus calcicolaC.P.Sm.1944speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus candidissimusEastw.1941speciesvar. palmeri= het.
Lupinus capitis-amniculiC.P.Sm.1946speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus cariciformisC.P.Sm.1946speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus caudatus var. rubricaulis(Greene) C.P.Sm.1927varietyvar. parviflorus≡ hom.
Lupinus charlestonensisC.P.Sm.1944speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus christianusC.P.Sm.1946speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus clarkensisC.P.Sm.1944speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus clokeyanusC.P.Sm.1944speciesvar. palmeri= het.
Lupinus corymbosusA.Heller1905speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus davisianusC.P.Sm.1942speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus decumbensTorr.1827speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus decumbens var. argentatusRydb.1906varietysubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus edward-palmeriC.P.Sm.1946speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus equi-coeliC.P.Sm.1946speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus flavopinuumC.P.Sm.1944speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus floribundusGreene1892speciesvar. myrianthus= het.
Lupinus foliosusHook.1847speciesvar. laxiflorus= het., nom. illeg.
Lupinus fontis-batchelderiC.P.Sm.1945speciesvar. palmeri= het.
Lupinus fremontensisC.P.Sm.1942speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus fulvomaculatusPayson1915speciesvar. fulvomaculatus≡ hom.
Lupinus funstonanusC.P.Sm.1945speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus garrettianusC.P.Sm.1949speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus hendersoniiEastw.1940speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus hullianusC.P.Sm.1946speciesvar. laxiflorus= het.
Lupinus ingratusGreene1900speciesvar. fulvomaculatus= het.
Lupinus jaegeranusC.P.Sm.1945speciesvar. palmeri= het.
Lupinus jonesiiBlank.1905speciesvar. parviflorus= het., nom. illeg.
Lupinus junipericolaC.P.Sm.1944speciesvar. palmeri= het.
Lupinus keckianusC.P.Sm.1945speciesvar. parviflorus= het.
Lupinus lanatocarinusC.P.Sm.1942speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus lariversianusC.P.Sm.1944speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus laxiflorusDouglas ex Lindl.1828speciesvar. laxiflorus≡ hom.
Lupinus laxiflorusHook.1847speciessubsp. argenteus= het., nom. illeg.
Lupinus laxiflorus var. corymbosus(A.Heller) Jeps.1936varietysubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus laxiflorus var. foliosusTorr. & A.Gray1840varietysubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus laxiflorus var. tenellus(Douglas ex G.Don) Torr. & A.Gray1840varietyvar. laxiflorus= het.
Lupinus laxusRydb.1903speciesvar. parviflorus= het.
Lupinus leptostachyusGreene1901speciesvar. myrianthus= het.
Lupinus lucidulusRydb.1902speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus merrillanusC.P.Sm.1946speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus mexicanusA.Gray1853speciessubsp. argenteus= het., nom. illeg.
Lupinus montis-cookiiC.P.Sm.1952speciesvar. laxiflorus= het.
Lupinus myrianthusGreene1900speciesvar. myrianthus≡ hom.
Lupinus olive-brownaeC.P.Sm.1948speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus olive-nortonaeC.P.Sm.1948speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus ornatusNewb.1858speciessubsp. argenteus= het., nom. illeg.
Lupinus palmeriS.Watson1873speciesvar. palmeri≡ hom.
Lupinus palmeri var. clawsonianusC.P.Sm.1939varietyvar. palmeri= het.
Lupinus palmeri var. humilisC.P.Sm.1939varietyvar. palmeri= het.
Lupinus parviflorusNutt. ex Hook. & Arn.1838speciesvar. parviflorus≡ hom.
Lupinus parviflorus subsp. floribundus(Greene) Harmon1972subspeciesvar. myrianthus= het.
Lupinus parviflorus subsp. myrianthus(Greene) Harmon1972subspeciesvar. myrianthus≡ hom.
Lupinus parviflorus var. complicatusKuntze1891varietysubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus parviflorus var. fulvomaculatus(Payson) Harmon1972varietyvar. fulvomaculatus≡ hom.
Lupinus patulipesC.P.Sm.1944speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus populorumC.P.Sm.1944speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus portae-westgardiaeC.P.Sm.1945speciesvar. palmeri= het.
Lupinus pulcherEastw.1942speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus pulcherrimusRydb.1903speciesvar. parviflorus= het.
Lupinus rubricaulisGreene1901speciesvar. parviflorus≡ hom.
Lupinus seclususC.P.Sm.1946speciesvar. parviflorus= het.
Lupinus serradentumC.P.Sm.1946speciesvar. parviflorus= het.
Lupinus sicco-silvaeC.P.Sm.1944speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus sitgreavesiiS.Watson1873speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus spathulatusRydb.1902speciessubsp. argenteus≡ hom.
Lupinus spathulatus var. boreusC.P.Sm.1952varietysubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus standingiiC.P.Sm.1952speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus stenophyllusRydb.1907speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus sublanatusEastw.1942speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus summaeC.P.Sm.1946speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Lupinus tenellusDouglas ex G.Don1832speciesvar. laxiflorus= het.
Lupinus trainianusC.P.Sm.1944speciessubsp. argenteus= het.
Notes: ≡ homotypic synonym  ; = heterotypic synonym

Names

The species name, argenteus, means silvery and its common name is silvery lupine. [4]

Range and habitat

Silver lupins grow throughout the western United States, parts of western Canada, and two states in Mexico. [19] In Canada it grows in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. In the Pacific Northwest it is native to the eastern portions of Washington and Oregon as well as almost all of Idaho. To the east the species grows throughout the Rocky Mountains in the states of Montana and Wyoming and onto the Northern Great Plains as far as western North Dakota and South Dakota. South of this they are mostly found in the Nebraska panhandle and all but the most eastern portions of Colorado. [20] It may also be native to Kansas, but there is not specific location to the records and it is not listed in the Flora of the Great Plains as occurring in Kansas. [20] [21] In Mexico it grows in the northwest in Chihuahua and Sonora. [19]

It grows in a wide range of plant communities including with ephedra, in grasslands, sagebrush steppes, piñon–juniper woodlands, ponderosa pine forests, aspen groves, and even with spruce-fir communities. [22]

Ecology

Many butterflies use silvery lupins as a food plant while catepilliars including the arrowhead blue (Glaucopsyche piasus), [23] gray hairstreak (Strymon melinus), [24] lupine blue (Icaricia icarioides), [25] and silvery blue (Glaucopsyche lygdamus). [26] It is an alternate food plant for the catepillers of the hops azure butterfly (Celastrina humulus). [27]

References

Citations

Sources

Books
  • Barneby, Rupert C. (1989). Holmgren, Patricia K.; Holmgren, Noel H. (eds.). Intermountain Flora : Vascular Plants of the Intermountain West, U.S.A. . Vol. Three, Part B. Fabales. New York: New York Botanical Garden. ISBN   978-0-89327-346-0. OCLC   470621690 . Retrieved 15 June 2025.
  • Blackwell, Laird R. (2005). Great Basin Wildflowers : A Field Guide to Common Wildflowers of the High Deserts of Nevada, Utah, and Oregon (First ed.). Guilford, Connecticut: FalconGuide. ISBN   978-0-7627-3805-2. OCLC   809414410.
  • Heil, Kenneth D.; O'Kane, Steve L. Jr.; Reeves, Linda Mary; Clifford, Arnold (2013). Flora of the Four Corners Region: Vascular Plants of the San Juan River Drainage, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah (First ed.). St. Louis, Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden. ISBN   978-1-930723-84-9. ISSN   0161-1542. LCCN   2012949654. OCLC   859541992 . Retrieved 15 June 2025.
  • McGregor, Ronald L. (1986). "Fabaceae". In McGregor, Ronald L.; Barkley, T. M.; Brooks, Ralph E.; Schofield, Eileen K. (eds.). Flora of the Great Plains . Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas. pp. 416–490. ISBN   978-0-7006-0295-7. OCLC   13093762 . Retrieved 15 June 2025.
  • Opler, Paul A.; Tilden, James W.; Smith, Arthur Clayton (1999) [First edition 1986]. A Field Guide to Western Butterflies . Peterson field guide series (Second ed.). Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN   978-0-395-79152-3. OCLC   1157041183 . Retrieved 15 June 2025.
  • Scott, James A. (1986). The Butterflies of North America : A Natural History and Field Guide. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. ISBN   978-0-8047-1205-7. OCLC   11518801.
  • Welsh, Stanley L.; Atwood, N. Duane; Goodrich, Sherel; Higgins, Larry C. (1987). A Utah Flora . Great Basin Naturalist Memoirs, No. 9 (First ed.). Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University. JSTOR   23377658. OCLC   9986953694 . Retrieved 15 June 2025.
Web sources
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