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Jepson Interchange (more information)
©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California
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  • Up-to-date information about California vascular plants is available from the Jepson eFlora.

FABACEAE

LEGUME FAMILY

Annual to tree
Leaves generally compound, alternate, stipuled; leaflets generally entire
Inflorescence: generally raceme, spike, umbel or head; flowers sometime 1–2 in axils
Flowers generally bisexual, generally bilateral; hypanthium generally flat or cup-like; sepals generally 5, fused; petals generally 5, free, or the 2 lower ± fused; stamens 1–many, often 10 with 9 filaments at least partly fused, 1 (uppermost) free; pistil 1, ovary superior, generally 1-chambered, ovules 1–many, style, stigma 1
Fruit: legume, sometimes including a stalk-like base above receptacle, dehiscent, or indehiscent and breaking into 1-seeded segments, or indehiscent, 1-seeded, and achene-like
Seeds 1–several, often ± reniform, generally hard, smooth
Genera in family: ± 650 genera, 18,000 species: worldwide; with grasses, requisite in agriculture and most natural ecosystems. Many cultivated, most importantly Arachis , peanut; Glycine , soybean; Phaseolus , beans; Medicago ; Trifolium ; and many orns
Reference: [Polhill & Raven (eds) 1981 Advances in legume systematics; Allen & Allen 1981 Leguminosae]
Family description and key to genera by Duane Isely.

LUPINUS

LUPINE

Rhonda Riggins (annual) and Teresa Sholars (perennial herbs to shrubs)

Annual to shrubs; cotyledons generally petioled, withering early
Stem generally erect
Leaves palmately compound in CA, generally cauline; stipules fused to petiole; leaflets 3–17, generally oblanceolate, entire
Inflorescence: raceme; flowers spiraled or whorled; bracts generally deciduous
Flower: calyx 2-lipped, lobes entire or toothed, generally appendaged between lobes; banner centrally grooved, sides reflexed, wing tips slightly fused, keel generally pointed; stamens 10, filaments fused, 5 long with short anthers, 5 short with long anthers; style brushy
Fruit dehiscent, generally oblong
Seeds 2–12, generally smooth
Species in genus: ± 200 species: especially w North America, w South America to e US, also tropical South America, Medit
Etymology: (Latin: wolf, from mistaken idea that plants rob soil of nutrients)
Some cultivated for fodder, green manure, edible seed, ornamental; some naturalized from CA in e North America, South America, Australia, s Africa; some (e.g. L. arboreus, L. latifolius, L. leucophyllus ) have alkaloids (especially in seeds, fruits, young herbage) TOXIC to livestock (especially sheep)
Reference: [Barneby 1989 Intermountain Flora 3(B):237–267]
Infl length does not include peduncle
Horticultural information: Many lupine taxa need seed pre-treatment (scarification, stratification, inoculation) for successful germination.

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bioregional map for LUPINUS being generated
 


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