Lupinus leucophyllus

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Lupinus leucophyllus
Lupinusleucophyllus.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Genus: Lupinus
Species:L. leucophyllus
Binomial name
Lupinus leucophyllus
Dougl. ex Lindl.

Lupinus leucophyllus is a species of lupine known by the common name velvet lupine. It is native to western North America, where it grows in many types of mountain, prairie, and plateau habitat. It is a robust, branching, erect perennial herb growing up to 90 centimetres (35 in) tall. Each palmate leaf is divided into 7 to 11 leaflets up to 7 centimetres (2.8 in) long. The herbage is coated in white woolly fibers and stiff hairs. The inflorescence is dense raceme of many flowers, each around a centimeter long. The flower is purple in color, fading brown, the patch on the banner petal yellow or brownish. The pointed sepals and the back of the banner are hairy to woolly in texture.

<i>Lupinus</i> genus of plants

Lupinus, commonly known as lupin or lupine, is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. The genus includes over 200 species, with centers of diversity in North and South America. Smaller centers occur in North Africa and the Mediterranean. They are widely cultivated, both as a food source and as ornamental plants.

Inflorescence term used in botany

An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed. The modifications can involve the length and the nature of the internodes and the phyllotaxis, as well as variations in the proportions, compressions, swellings, adnations, connations and reduction of main and secondary axes. Inflorescence can also be defined as the reproductive portion of a plant that bears a cluster of flowers in a specific pattern.

A raceme is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing pedicellate flowers along its axis. In botany, an axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In indeterminate inflorescence-like racemes, the oldest flowers are borne towards the base and new flowers are produced as the shoot grows, with no predetermined growth limit. A plant that flowers on a showy raceme may have this reflected in its scientific name, e.g. Cimicifuga racemosa. A compound raceme, also called a panicle, has a branching main axis. Examples of racemes occur on mustard and radish plants.

This is one of several poisonous lupines that are dangerous to grazing livestock. The plant contains toxic alkaloids including lupinine and the teratogenic anagyrine. [1]

Alkaloid class of naturally occurring chemical compounds

Alkaloids are a class of naturally occurring organic compounds that mostly contain basic nitrogen atoms. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Some synthetic compounds of similar structure may also be termed alkaloids. In addition to carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen, alkaloids may also contain oxygen, sulfur and, more rarely, other elements such as chlorine, bromine, and phosphorus.

Lupinine chemical compound

Lupinine is a quinolizidine alkaloid present in the genus Lupinus of the flowering plant family Fabaceae. The scientific literature contains many reports on the isolation and synthesis of this compound as well as a vast number of studies on its biological synthesis from its natural precursor, lysine. Studies have shown that lupinine hydrochloride is a mildly toxic acetylcholinesterase inhibitor and that lupinine has an inhibitory effect on acetylcholine receptors. The characteristically bitter taste of lupin beans, which come from the seeds of Lupinus plants, is attributable to the quinolizidine alkaloids which they contain, rendering them unsuitable for human and animal consumption unless handled properly. However, because lupin beans have potential nutritional value due to their high protein content, efforts have been made to reduce their alkaloid content through the development of "sweet" varieties of Lupinus.

Teratology is the study of abnormalities of physiological development. It is often thought of as the study of human congenital abnormalities, but it is broader than that, taking into account other non-birth developmental stages, including puberty; and other organisms, including plants. The related term developmental toxicity includes all manifestations of abnormal development that are caused by environmental insult. These may include growth retardation, delayed mental development or other congenital disorders without any structural malformations.

Leaves with white woolly fibers and stiff hairs (Wenas Wildlife Area, Washington) Lupinus leucophyllus 9591.JPG
Leaves with white woolly fibers and stiff hairs (Wenas Wildlife Area, Washington)

Related Research Articles

<i>Lupinus polyphyllus</i> species of plant

Lupinus polyphyllus is a species of lupine (lupin) native to western North America from southern Alaska and British Columbia east to Quebec, and western Wyoming, and south to Utah and California. It commonly grows along streams and creeks, preferring moist habitats.

<i>Lupinus microcarpus</i> species of plant

Lupinus microcarpus, the wide-bannered lupine or chick lupine, is a species of lupine native to western North America from southwestern British Columbia south through Oregon and California, including the Mojave Desert, and into Baja California. There is also a disjunct population in South America, with locations in central Chile and western Argentina.

<i>Lupinus succulentus</i> species of plant

Lupinus succulentus is a species of lupine known by the common names hollowleaf annual lupine, arroyo lupine, and succulent lupine.

Lupinus adsurgens is a species of lupine known by the common name Drew's silky lupine. It is native to the Sierra Nevada and coastal mountain ranges of northern California and southern Oregon, where it grows in forest and other mountain habitat. It is a perennial herb growing 20–60 centimetres (7.9–23.6 in) in height. Each palmate leaf is made up of 6 to 9 leaflets each up to 5 centimetres (2.0 in) long. The herbage is hairy and silvery or gray-green in color. The inflorescence is up to 23 centimetres (9.1 in) long, bearing flowers just over a centimeter long. The flower is pale pink or purple to yellowish with a white or yellow patch on the banner. The fruit is a silky-haired legume pod 2 to 4 centimetres (1.6 in) long containing 3 to 6 seeds.

Lupinus affinis is a species of lupine known by the common name fleshy lupine. It is native to the California Coast Ranges from the San Francisco Bay Area north, and into southern Oregon, where it is an uncommon member of the flora in several areas. It is a hairy annual herb growing 20 to 50 centimetres in height. Each palmate leaf is made up of 5 to 8 leaflets each up to 5 centimetres long. The inflorescence is up to 20 centimetres (8 in) long, bearing whorls of flowers each about 1 centimetre long. The flower is purple-blue with a whitish patch on the banner. The fruit is a hairy legume pod up to 5 centimetres (2 in) long containing several seeds.

Lupinus antoninus is a rare species of lupine known by the common name Anthony Peak lupine. It is endemic to northern California, where it is known from only four occurrences in the North Coast Ranges, including near Anthony Peak.

<i>Lupinus arbustus</i> species of plant

Lupinus arbustus is a species of lupine known by the common name longspur lupine. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California to Utah, where it grows in several types of habitat, including sagebrush and forests. This is a perennial herb growing erect to a maximum of 70 centimetres tall. It is sometimes hairy in texture. Each palmate leaf is made up of 7 to 13 leaflets each up to 7 centimetres long. The inflorescence is up to 18 centimetres long, bearing whorls of flowers each up to 1.4 centimetres long. The calyx of sepals around the base of the corolla has a knoblike spur at the back. The flower corolla is white to yellow to various shades of purple or pink. The fruit is a hairy legume pod 2 or 3 centimetres long. There are several subspecies.

<i>Lupinus argenteus</i> species of plant

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 the southwestern and midwestern United States, where it grows in several types of habitat, including sagebrush, grassland, and forests. This is a perennial herb growing erect to heights anywhere between 10 centimetres (3.9 in) and 1.5 metres (4.9 ft). It is sometimes silvery-hairy in texture and sometimes nearly hairless. Each palmate leaf is made up of 5 to 9 leaflets each up to 6 centimetres long. They are narrow and linear in shape, under a centimetre wide. The inflorescence bears many flowers, sometimes arranged in whorls. The flower is 5 millimetres (0.20 in) to 14 millimetres (0.55 in) long and purple, blue, or whitish in color. The banner, or upper petal, of the flower may have a patch of white or yellow. The fruit is a hairy legume pod up to 3 centimeters long containing several beanlike seeds.

<i>Lupinus benthamii</i> species of plant

Lupinus benthamii is a species of lupine known by the common name spider lupine.

<i>Lupinus cervinus</i> species of plant

Lupinus cervinus is a species of lupine known by the common name Santa Lucia lupine. It is endemic to the Santa Lucia Mountains in the Central Coast Ranges in California, where it is an uncommon member of the flora in the mountain forests. This is a hairy gray-green perennial herb growing up to 30–70 centimetres (12–28 in) tall. The erect stem is surrounded by clusters of spreading leaves. Each palmate leaf is made up of 4 to 8 leaflets up to 8 centimetres (3.1 in) long and 3 centimetres (1.2 in) wide, which is wider than the leaflets of most lupines. The inflorescence bears many flowers, sometimes in whorls, each between 1 centimetre (0.39 in) and 2 centimetres (0.79 in) long. The flower is often bright pink, but may be shades of blue to nearly white. There is often a yellow patch on the banner. The fruit is a hairy legume pod up to 6 centimetres (2.4 in) long.

<i>Lupinus chamissonis</i> species of plant

Lupinus chamissonis is a species of lupine known by the common name Chamisso bush lupine. It is endemic to California, where it is known from most of the length of the coastline. It grows in sand dunes and other immediate coastal habitat.

Lupinus covillei is a species of lupine known by the common name shaggy lupine.

<i>Lupinus flavoculatus</i> species of plant

Lupinus flavoculatus is a species of lupine known by the common name yelloweyes, or yellow-eyed lupine.,

Lupinus grayi is a species of lupine known by the common name Sierra lupine. It is endemic to California, where its distribution extends the length of the Sierra Nevada and its foothills and includes the Tehachapi Mountains.

<i>Lupinus hirsutissimus</i> species of plant

Lupinus hirsutissimus is a species of lupine known by the common names stinging annual lupine or stinging lupine. It is native to the coastal mountains of Baja California and Southern California as far north as the San Francisco Bay Area. It grows on dry mountain slopes, including areas that have recently burned, and chaparral and woodlands habitats.

Lupinus holmgrenianus is a species of lupine known by the common name Holmgren's lupine. It is native to the desert mountains of western Nevada and a few ranges of adjacent Inyo County, California, including the Last Chance Range of Death Valley National Park. This is a hairy perennial herb growing erect to a maximum height near 70 centimetres (28 in). Each palmate leaf is made up of 4 to 7 leaflets up to 5 centimetres (2.0 in) long. The inflorescence is a spiral of flowers each just over a centimeter long. They are purple in color with yellow patches on their banners. The fruit is a hairy legume pod 4 or 5 centimeters long.

<i>Lupinus littoralis</i> species of plant

Lupinus littoralis is a species of lupine known by the common name seashore lupine. It is native to the coastline of western North America from British Columbia to northern California, where it grows in sandy habitat. It is a low perennial herb or subshrub growing in a clump or mat no more than 30 centimetres (12 in) tall. Each palmate leaf is divided into 5 to 9 leaflets up to 3.5 centimetres (1.4 in) long. The herbage is coated in long, shaggy whitish or silvery hairs. The inflorescence is raceme of whorled flowers each around a centimeter long. The flower is purple in color with a white patch on its banner that fades pinkish. The fruit is a hairy legume pod 3 or 4 centimeters long containing up to 12 seeds.

<i>Lupinus obtusilobus</i> species of plant

Lupinus obtusilobus is a species of lupine known by the common name bluntlobe lupine. It is native to high mountains of northern California, including the North Coast Ranges, the Klamath Mountains, and the northernmost Sierra Nevada. It grows in various types of mountain habitat, sometimes carpeting meadows with its purple blooms in the spring. It is a perennial herb growing erect or decumbent along the ground, its stem 15–30 centimetres (5.9–11.8 in) long. Each palmate leaf is made up of 6 to 7 leaflets up to 5 centimetres (2.0 in) long. The herbage is coated in silvery silky hairs. The inflorescence is a small raceme with a few whorls of flowers each just over a centimeter long. The flower is blue to purple with a yellowish patch on its banner. The fruit is a silky-haired legume pod up to 4 centimetres (1.6 in) long.

<i>Lupinus pratensis</i> species of plant

Lupinus pratensis is a species of lupine known by the common name Inyo meadow lupine. It is endemic to California, where it grows in the central Sierra Nevada and adjacent plateau and valleys to the east. It grows in relatively moist habitat, such as streambanks and spring meadows. This is an erect perennial herb growing 30–70 centimetres (12–28 in) tall. Each palmate leaf is made up of 5 to 10 narrow leaflets sometimes exceeding 10 centimetres (3.9 in) long. The leaves are borne on long petioles which can reach 25 centimetres (9.8 in) in length. The herbage is green and coated in thin hairs. The inflorescence is a dense raceme of many flowers each around a centimeter long. The flower is dark blue or purple with a reddish or orange patch on its banner. The fruit is a hairy legume pod around 2 centimetres (0.79 in) long.

<i>Lupinus sericeus</i> species of plant

Lupinus sericeus is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name silky lupine or Pursh's silky lupine. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Arizona and east to Alberta and Colorado.

References

  1. Lee, S. T., et al. (2007). Alkaloid profiles, concentration, and pools in Velvet Lupine (Lupinus leucophyllus) over the growing season. Journal of Chemical Ecology 33:75-84.

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