iLegum1.html

Idaho Mountain Wildflowers

The Pea Family: Fabaceae (page 1 of 4)

An older scientific name for the pea family, Leguminosae, is one of several family names that don’t end in “-aceae”, so most botanists now prefer the term Fabaceae (from the Latin word “faba,” for “bean”), although either name is correct. The derivation of the word “legume” is obscure, but may have been derived from the French leger meaning “to gather.” It is a large and—because of a tendency for species to interbreed—taxonomically difficult family, even for botanists. The Pea family contains hundreds of genera and thousands of species including herbs, vines, shrubs and trees; it is second only to the grasses in economic importance. Typically, the ones found in our region are “papilionaceous” (from the Latin papilio meaning “butterfly”). The term implies that the flowers have five petals, with a large upper petal , or “banner,” two smaller lateral ones (“wings”), and the two lowest ones joined together to form a “keel”. The fruit is commonly born in a pod that splits open along two seams. The compound leaves are either pinnate (like a feather), or palmate (leaflets all arise from a central point like fingers from the palm). Cultivated plants include beans, peas, lentils peanuts, clover, alfalfa, etc., plants important not only for their food value to man and domestic animals, but also for their ability to fix soil nitrogen. About twenty five genera, with both native and introduced species, are native to the Northwest. Although some have edible fruit, others are poisonous, so it is best to avoid all wild members of the family.

Longspur Lupine, Lupinus arbustus ssp. calcaratus. This plant's species name means “small tree, or shrub" and the subspecies name means "spurred" for a bump-like projection that extends backward from the top of the calyx. Both the species and subsepecies are common in the Rocky Mountain States, west to the coast.. It grows in great profusion. on open sagebrush slopes as high as the subalpine zone in some places. The color of the flowers varies considerably from a light purple to yellow. The ones shown here are typical .

The Silver (or Silvery) Lupine, Lupinus argenteus var. depressus. Although the silvery lupine is found in most states west of the Mississippi River, the mountain variety shown here seldom grows more than a foot high, and is restricted to the mountainous areas of Idaho, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico. A higher elevation plant, this variety grows to and above treeline where their waving flowers often, for a brief time in mid-summer, turn high meadows blue. It may be identified by solid blue flowers growing in a crowded cluster, as well as by its preference for higher elevations. Lupinus argenteus was unknown to science until the Lewis and Clark expedition returned a specimen of Lupinus argenteus (although not this variety), collected most likely along the Lolo Trail in Northern Idaho,—or possibly in adjacent Montana—on July 1, 1806.

Silky Lupine, Lupinus sericeus. The silky lupine while usually blue, ranges in color from a yellowish off-white to the intense blue shown in the photo. It may, be hard to distinguish from the silver lupine (above) although there are differences. For example, the silky lupine grows at lower altitudes (sagebrush to lower montane), its leaves tend to be rounded, the banner (the large upper petal) is hairy on the back and is usually white centered and, while both plants are overall hairy, the silky lupine is usually more so. There are several other technical differences, although these may require a hand lens to make out. (A similar, related, plant, Lupinus holosericeus, also known as a silky lupine, grows in Central Idaho.) The silky lupine was also unknown to science until Meriwether Lewis collected a speciment while camped on the Clearwater River in today's North Central Idaho on June 5, 1806. It speaks well for his powers of observation that he recognized that the similar silvery lupine, growing at a higher elevation along the Lolo Trail, was a different species.

Prairie Lupine, Lupinus lepidus var. utahensis. The prairie lupine is, a small plant that blooms in mid-summer; ours grows in meadows at higher elevations. It is an inconspicuous plant, easily missed in the surrounding high grass. The plant in one or another variety has a wide distribution (the Northwest and surrounding northern states) and five varieties have been described.The leaves and flowers are furry giving the plant an overall grayish appearance.
.

Home | Next | Previous | Index

Longspur Lupine, Lupinus arbustus ssp. calcaratus. This plant's species name means “small tree, or shrub" and the subspecies name means "spurred" for a bump-like projection that extends backward from the top of the calyx. Both the species and subsepecies are common in the Rocky Mountain States, west to the coast.. It grows in great profusion. on open sagebrush slopes as high as the subalpine zone in some places. The color of the flowers varies considerably from a light purple to yellow. The ones shown here are typical .
The Silver (or Silvery) Lupine, Lupinus argenteus var. *depressus.* Although the silvery lupine is found in most states west of the Mississippi River, the mountain variety shown here seldom grows more than a foot high, and is restricted to the mountainous areas of Idaho, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico. A higher elevation plant, this variety grows to and above treeline where their waving flowers often, for a brief time in mid-summer, turn high meadows blue. It may be identified by solid blue flowers growing in a crowded cluster, as well as by its preference for higher elevations. Lupinus argenteus was unknown to science until the Lewis and Clark expedition returned a specimen of Lupinus argenteus (although not this variety), collected most likely along the Lolo Trail in Northern Idaho,—or possibly in adjacent Montana—on July 1, 1806.
*Silky Lupine, Lupinus sericeus.* The silky lupine while usually blue, ranges in color from a yellowish off-white to the intense blue shown in the photo. It may, be hard to distinguish from the silver lupine (above) although there are differences. For example, the silky lupine grows at lower altitudes (sagebrush to lower montane), its leaves tend to be rounded, the banner (the large upper petal) is hairy on the back and is usually white centered and, while both plants are overall hairy, the silky lupine is usually more so. There are several other technical differences, although these may require a hand lens to make out. (A similar, related, plant, Lupinus holosericeus, also known as a silky lupine, grows in Central Idaho.) The silky lupine was also unknown to science until Meriwether Lewis collected a speciment while camped on the Clearwater River in today's North Central Idaho on June 5, 1806. It speaks well for his powers of observation that he recognized that the similar silvery lupine, growing at a higher elevation along the Lolo Trail, was a different species.
Prairie Lupine, Lupinus lepidus var. utahensis. The prairie lupine is, a small plant that blooms in mid-summer; ours grows in meadows at higher elevations. It is an inconspicuous plant, easily missed in the surrounding high grass. The plant in one or another variety has a wide distribution (the Northwest and surrounding northern states) and five varieties have been described.The leaves and flowers are furry giving the plant an overall grayish appearance. .