arctic lupine (subalpine lupine)
Fabaceae (Pea family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Map
Distribution of Lupinus arcticus subsp. subalpinus
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Species Information
General:
Perennnial herb from a branched, woody stem-base; stems several, erect to ascending, 20-60 cm tall, with mostly short, appressed to spreading, silky hairs
Leaves:
Most basal on long stalks (in the north) to most along the stem and alternate on short stalks (in the south), palmately compound; leaflets 6 to 10, narrowly oblanceolate to elliptic, pointed to rounded at the tip, 2-9 cm long, 1-1.5 cm wide, glabrous or sparsely hairly above, stiff-hairy below.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a terminal raceme of numerous, more or less whorled pea-like flowers, the racemes 5-15 cm long on stalks 4-8 cm long; corollas blue, rarely whitish to pink, 14-20 mm long, the banner circular and notched at the tip, glabrous, the wings usually glabrous, the keel glabrous or with a few fringing hairs along the upper edges; calyces 2-lipped, the lower lip 5-11 mm long, the upper lip 2-toothed at the tip, 4-8 mm long.
Fruits:
Pods, 2-4 cm long, silky to coarse-hairy; seeds 5 to 8
Notes:
Two subspecies, which intergrade where their ranges overlap, occur in BC.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Ecology
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
1718 | 1270 | 2060 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
15 | 0 | 52 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
164 | 45 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
3 | 1 | 6 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
32 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
ESSF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
ESSF(29), IDF(1), MS(1) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Moist to mesic meadows, gravel bars, clearing, roadsides, thickets, and open forests in all zones; ssp. arcticus -- common in BC N of 55 N, ssp. subalpinus -- common in BC Sof 55 N, except absent from the Queen Charlotte Islands; ssp. arcticus -- N to AK, YT and NT, ssp. subalpinus -- S to N OR.Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Lupinus arcticus subsp. canadensis
Lupinus arcticus var. subalpinus (Piper & B.L. Robins.) C.P. Sm.
Lupinus glacialis C.P. Sm.
Lupinus latifolius var. canadensis
Lupinus latifolius var. subalpinus (Piper & B.L. Rob.) C.P. Sm.
Lupinus subalpinus Piper & B.L. Rob.
Lupinus volcanicus Greene
Lupinus volcanicus var. rupestricola C.P. Sm.
Taxonomic Keys
KEY TO LUPINUS ARCTICUS SUBSPECIES
1. Leaves mostly basal; longest leaf stalks 9-15 cm long...............ssp. arcticus 1. Leaves mostly along the stems; longest leaf stalks 4-8 cm long.......................ssp subalpinus Source: Illustrated Flora of British Columbia |