Nootka lupine
Fabaceae (Pea family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC
Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from a stout, woody stem-base; stems few to several, erect or ascending, up to 1 m tall but barely 10 cm in exposed areas, often cylindric-hollow, soft-shaggy (especially when young) to short-stiff-hairy.
Leaves:
Alternate, palmately compound on stalks rarely twice as long as the longest leaflet; leaflets 5 to 8, broadly oblanceolate, blunt to rounded at the tip, 1-7 cm long, shaggy-soft-hairy below but generally glabrous above.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a stalked, terminal raceme, 5-35 cm long, of whorled pea-like flowers; corollas bluish, often tinged with white or pink, 15-21 mm long, the banner circular, glabrous, the wings slightly longer than the banner, the keel fringed with hairs along the upper edges; calyces 2-lipped, the upper lip 2-lobed and 6-8 mm long, the lower lip 3-toothed, boat-shaped, bent backwards, 6-12 mm long.
Fruits:
Pods, 3-6 cm long, silky-hairy; seeds 7 to 11.
Notes:
Two sympatric extremes are usually recognized.
1. Hairs spreading, long and shaggy; stems 10-15 mm in diameter.................var. nootkatensis
1. Hairs appressed or short and soft-wavy; stems usually less than 9 mm in diameter................ var. fruticosus Sims
USDA Species Characteristics
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) |
977 | 0 | 1920 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
22 | 0 | 90 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
155 | 0 | 359 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
4 | 1 | 7 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
D | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
76 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
CWH | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
AT(1), BAFA(6), CMA(2), CWH(28), ESSF(24), ICH(1), IMA(2), MH(3), MS(2), SBS(2) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Mesic to moist meadows, riverbars, streambanks, shorelines, clearings, roadsides, thickets and forest openings in the lowland to lower alpine zones; common along the coast south to N Vancouver Island, frequent in the Coast Mountains, occasionally inland to the Rocky Mountains, rare in S BC; N to AK and YT.Taxonomic Notes
Based on research by B. Magnusson, B.D. Sigurdsson, S.H. Magnusson & S. Baldursson in Norway, key information on the seed ecology of Nootka lupine has emerged, as follows: Nootka Lupine is an introduced species in Norway that is used in land reclamation projects. The species forms a persistent seed bank in the soil, and the seed bank is buried significantly deeper in older plots, which indicates that the seeds may last for many years in the soil. Research on several populations has shown that seeds from plants at the outer edges of populations disperse only 3 m, with seed dispersal beginning in early August and peaking in late September. The highest number of buried seeds was found under older lupine patches. Where grasslands had replaced lupines, a viable seed bank persisted in the soil.
Notes References: Magnusson, B., S.H. Magnusson & B.D. Sigurdsson. 2004. Plant succession in areas colonized by the introduced Nootka lupin in Iceland. In: Proceedings of the 10th International Lupine Conference. Wild and Cultivated Lupins from the Tropics to the Poles, Laugarvatn, Iceland, 19-24 June 2002 (Ed. E. van Santen). Intern. Lupin Ass., pp. 170-177. Magnusson, B., Magnusson, S.H. & B.D. Sigurdsson. 2001. Vegetation succession in areas colonized by the introduced Nootka lupin (Lupinus nootkatensis) in Iceland. Fjölrit RALA, 207, 100 pp. (In Icelandic, English summary). Sigurdsson, B.D., B. Magnusson & S.H. Magnusson. 1995. Regrowth of Nootka lupine after cutting. In: B. Magnusson (ed.) Biological studies of Nootka lupine (Lupinus nootkatensis) in Iceland – Growth, seed set, chemical content and effect of cutting. Fjölrit RALA, 178, 28-37. Magnusson, B., B.D. Sigurdsson, S.H. Magnusson & S. Baldursson. 1995. Growth and yield of Nootka lupine. In: B. Magnusson (ed.) Biological studies of Nootka lupine (Lupinus nootkatensis) in Iceland – Growth, seed set, chemical content and effect of cutting. Fjölrit RALA, 178, 9-27. Magnusson, B. & B.D. Sigurdsson. 1995. Protein, minerals, fibres and alkaloid content of Nootka lupine. In: B. Magnusson (ed.) Biological studies of Nootka lupine (Lupinus nootkatensis) in Iceland – Growth, seed set, chemical content and effect of cutting. Fjölrit RALA, 178, 44-65. Note Author: R. Klinkenberg, July 2009 |