Lupinus kuschei Eastw.
Yukon lupine (Kusche's lupine)
Fabaceae (Pea family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Yukon lupine (Kusche's lupine)
Fabaceae (Pea family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
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Introduction
The Yukon lupine is endemic to northern BC, the Yukon and Alaska, with most plants found in southwestern Yukon and three disjunct locations found in northwest Alaska (BC Conservation Data Centre 2010). It is a densely silky hairy, perennial, blue (blue-purple) flowered species. The BC Species and Ecosystem Explorer Species Summary provides a comparison with similar species. This species shows preference for sandy and gravelly habitats, including sand dunes, river terraces, floodplains and sandy woods (BC Conservation Data Centre 2010).
References: BC Conservation Data Centre. 2010. Species Summary: Lupinus kuschei. BC Ministry of Environment. Available Online. |
Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from a woody stem-base; entire plant except the corollas densely silvery silky-hairy; stems decumbent to erect, few to several, tufted, 15-50 cm long/tall.
Leaves:
Alternate, palmately compound, stalks of lower leaves 4-15 cm long, 2-3 times longer than the upper leaves; leaflets 5 to 9, elliptic-oblanceolate, pointed at the tip, 1.5-5 cm long.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a dense, stalked, terminal raceme, 3-10 cm long, of whorled pea-like flowers; corollas blue to bluish purple, 10-13 mm long, the banner nearly circular with a yellow central patch; calyces 2-lipped, the upper lip 4-6 mm long, 2-lobed, the slender lower lip 5-7 mm long, 3-toothed.
Fruits:
Pods, 2-3 cm long, silky; seeds 4 to 6.
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 kuschei
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) |
1976 | 1533 | 2140 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
31 | 17 | 45 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
119 | 90 | 148 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
3 | 3 | 4 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
5 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
ESSF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
ESSF(3) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Mesic to dry, sandy, gravelly or rocky openings, and open lodgepole pine forests in the montane zone, also alpine pumice fields (Mt. Edziza); rare in N BC; endemic to BC and YT.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Lupinus sericeus var. kuschei (Eastw.) Boivin