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BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary


Lupinus kuschei
Yukon lupine

 
Scientific Name: Lupinus kuschei Eastw.
English Name: Yukon lupine
 
Classification / Taxonomy
Scientific Name - Concept Reference: Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Classification Level: Species
Species Group: Vascular Plant
Species Code: LUPIKUS
Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
Plantae Anthophyta Dicotyledoneae Fabales Fabaceae
   
Conservation Status / Legal Designation
Global Status: G4 (Jul 2016)
Provincial Status: S3S4 (Apr 2019)
BC List: Yellow
Provincial FRPA list:   
Provincial Wildlife Act:
COSEWIC Status:
SARA Schedule:
General Status Canada: 3 - Sensitive (2010)
   
Ecology & Life History
General Description: Perennial herb covered with dense silvery silky hairs (except petals), having several stems lying on the ground to upright, 15-50 cm. Leaves with 5-9 leaflets originating from a single point where the leaf stalk is attached (palmately compound); widest part of leaflet is between its middle and top. Stalks of lower leaves 2-3 times longer than those of the upper leaves. Flowers arranged in dense groups at the end of stalks. Flowers pea-shaped and blue to bluish purple. Fruits silky pods 2-3 cm long.
Technical Description: From Douglas et al. (1999): 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. Inflorescence a dense, stalked, terminal raceme, 3-10 cm long, of whorled pea-like flowers. Flowers with 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.
Diagnostic Characteristics: Distinguished from L. nootkatensis by its long-petioled basal leaves (petioles usually 2 or more times longer than diameter of leaf vs. usually about as long as diameter of leaf) and acute leaflets (vs. blunt, mucronate leaflets). Distinguished from L. arcticus by its leaflets silky-villous on both sides (vs. leaves glabrous above and green and strigose-pubescent below). Distinguished from L lepidus by its keels glabrous or with only a few long fringing haris along the upper edge towards the tip (vs. keels fringed with long hairs along the upper edge) and its stem, pedicels, and calyx with spreading, villous pubescence (vs. pubescence appressed). Distinguished from L. sericeus by its banners not conspicuously hairy on the back (vs. conspicuously hairy over much of the back).
Similar Species:
Habitats:
(Type / Subtype / Dependence) 		Forest / Conifer Forest - Dry / Facultative - frequent use
Other Unique Habitats / Sand Dune / Facultative - frequent use
Rock/Sparsely Vegetated Rock / Rock/Sparsely Vegetated Rock / Facultative - frequent use
Global Habitat Comments: Appears to prefer sandy or gravelly substrates. Habitats include sand dunes; gravels and sand bars of glacial rivers; river terraces and sandy alluvium; open forests and sandy woods (such as montane open lodgepole pine forests), often in mesic to dry, sandy, gravelly or rocky openings; alpine pumice fields; and roadsides. Associated species include Dryas drummondii, Hedysarum mackenzii, Epilobium latifolium, Oxytropis campestris, Oxytropis deflexa, Pinus contorta, Arctostaphylos sp., Shepherdia canadensis, Calamagrostis purpurascens, Festuca rubra, Solidago decumbens, Populus balsamifera,and Salix sp.
Provincial Habitat Comments: Mesic to dry, sandy, gravelly or rocky openings and open lodgepole pine forests in the montane zone. Also, alpine pumice fields (e.g. Mt. Edziza)(Douglas et al., 2002).
Provincial Phenology:
(1st half of month/
2nd half of month)
Elevation (m) (min / max): Provincial: 
Known Pests:
Pollen Vector:
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Dispersal:
   
 
Provincial Inventory
Inventory Priority:
Ownership of occurrences (Known locations):
Inventory Need:
 
Economic Attributes
 
Distribution
Endemic: N
Global Range Comment: Most of the global population is found in the southwestern Yukon Territory, with additional populations documented in northern British Columbia and east-central Alaska. Three disjunct populations have also been mapped in northwest Alaska. Considering the northwest Alaska occurrences to be disjunct for the purpose of range mapping, range extent calculated using GIS tools is approximately 250,000 km2. The E-Flora BC website shows additional reports in southern British Columbia that are not currently mapped as occurrences by the BC CDC; however, these reports are questionable (B. Bennett pers. comm. 2008). Confirmation of identification would also be beneficial for mapped occurrences in northeastern BC (i.e. those further from the core of the range in the southwestern Yukon) (B. Bennett pers. comm. 2008).
Disjunct, more common elsewhere: N
Peripheral, major distribution elsewhere: N
 
Authors / Contributors
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Provincial Information Author:
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References and Related Literature
Douglas, G.W., D. Meidinger, and J. Penny. 2002. Rare Native Vascular Plants of British Columbia, 2nd ed. B.C. Conserv. Data Centre, Terrestrial Inf. Branch, Victoria. 358pp.
Douglas, G.W., D. Meidinger, and J. Pojar, editors. 1999. Illustrated Flora of British Columbia. Volume 3. Dicotyledons (Diapensiaceae through Onagraceae). British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, and British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Victoria.
Douglas, G.W., D. Meidinger, and J. Pojar. eds. 1999. Illustrated Flora of British Columbia, Vol. 3, Dicotyledons (Diapensiaceae through Onagraceae). B.C. Minist. Environ., Lands and Parks, and B.C. Minist. For., Victoria. 423pp.
Hulten, E. 1968. Flora of Alaska and neighboring territories. Stanford Univ. Press, Palo Alto, CA. 1008 pp.
Scoggan, H.J. 1978-1979. The flora of Canada: Parts 1-4. National Museums Canada, Ottawa. 1711 pp.
Welsh, S.L. 1974. Anderson's flora of Alaska and adjacent parts of Canada. Brigham Young Univ. Press, Provo, Utah. 724 pp.
 

Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.

Suggested Citation:

B.C. Conservation Data Centre. Species Summary: Lupinus kuschei. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jul 21, 2024).