Al Schneider's Rocky Mountains Plant Descriptions

King's Lupine
Lupinus kingii
Pea family (Fabaceae)

King's Lupine (Lupinus kingii) is an growing from two-to-twelve inches tall. It often is very common in Sagebrush communities. It grows singly, scattered over wide areas, or in dense clusters. It flowers when plants are quite young and tiny and then continues to flower for many weeks. Plant will therefore be flowering and also have well-developed pods. This species is very similar to Stemless Lupine (L. brevicaulis) but, as the name indicates, that species has little to no stem, i.e., the either do not exist or there may be one to about two long. In other words, leaves and flower stems of L. brevicaulis arise immediately above the cotyledons and no main plant stem develops. Lupinus kingii was first collected in Heber Utah around 1870 by Sereno Watson and he named it in 1873.


© Jerry Friedman

Description

from 2-12" tall from a . Cotyledons obvious and . Stems with 1 or more more than 2/3" long. Leaves mainly . to over 1" long. 5-7, from 1/4 to 1" long, flat or often folded, with long hairs on both surfaces or sometimes . from 0 to almost 4" long. 5-12 flowered, blue purple with a central yellow spot. a hairy pod with pointed tip.

Field Marks

Miniature very hairy lupine with folded, leaves.

© Al Schneider

node -- The point at which there is attached growth, as in the place where each leaf is attached.

cauline -- Leaves that are on the stem. Not basal.

A peduncle is a common stalk of a cluster of flowers.

cm -- A centimeter which is about 0.4 inches.

An annual plant is a plant that completes its life cycle, from germination to the production of seed, within one year, and then dies.

ascending -- growing obliquely upward and usually curved.

taproot -- The primary decending root of a plant.

fruit -- any seed-bearing structure in flowering plants. It is formed from the ovary after flowering.

sessile -- attached without a stalk. For example, a leaf that clasps the stalk. A petiolate leaf has a stalk.

petiole -- the stalk of a leaf.

A raceme is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along its axis.

glabrous -- smooth, glossy, having no bristles or hair-like structures. Bald.

leaflets -- Each little leaf-like thing in a compound leaf is a leaflet.