Lupinus polycarpus Greene
small-flowered lupine (smallflower lupine)
Fabaceae (Pea family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
small-flowered lupine (smallflower lupine)
Fabaceae (Pea family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Annual herb from a taproot; stems erect or nearly so, 15-45 cm tall, branched mostly at the base, sparsely appressed-hairy.
Leaves:
Alternate, palmately compound; leaflets 5 to 7, linear-oblong to narrowly elliptic, 1-4 cm long, upper surface glabrous and green.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a terminal raceme, 1-7 cm long, of relatively few, more or less whorled pea-like flowers, the racemes raised above the leaves on stalks; corollas blue, 5-7 mm long, the banner heart-shaped, glabrous, about as long as the glabrous wings and the keel, which is usually fringed with hairs on the upper edges; calyces about equally 2-lipped, the upper lip 2-lobed, the lower lip entire or 3-toothed.
Fruits:
Pods, up to 3 cm long, somewhat appressed-hairy or becoming glabrous; seeds 4 to 8, grey to brown with dark stippling or mottling.
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
Ecological Framework for Lupinus polycarpus
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)
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) |
1049 | 290 | 1790 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
8 | 0 | 25 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
299 | 85 | 324 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
3 | 0 | 6 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
D | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
9 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
CWH | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
CWH(3), ESSF(2), IDF(1), SBS(1) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Dry sandy or gravelly, grassy meadows and clearings in the lowland zone; locally frequent on SE Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, rare in Greater Vancouver; S to CA.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Lupinus micranthus Douglas, non Guss.