''Lupinus formosus'', the summer lupine or western lupine, is a species of flowering plant in the

legume Legumes are plants in the pea family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seeds of such plants. When used as a dry grain for human consumption, the seeds are also called pulses. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consum ...

family,

Fabaceae Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...

. It is native to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

in the United States. ''Lupinus formosus'' has been cited as a poisonous plant. Although it is not endangered it faces eradication in some areas at the hands of cattle farmers as it has been implicated in crooked calf disease. This lupine, along with five others, is poisonous from the time it starts growth in the spring until the

seed pods This page provides a glossary of plant morphology. Botanists and other biologists who study plant morphology use a number of different terms to classify and identify plant organs and parts that can be observed using no more than a handheld magnify ...

shatter in late summer or early fall. However, the younger the plant the more toxic it is. Summer lupine is one of three piperidine alkaloid containing plants that have poisonous effects on livestock. It, along with

poison hemlock ''Conium maculatum'', commonly known as hemlock (British English) or poison hemlock (American English), is a highly poisonous flowering plant in the carrot family Apiaceae, native to Europe and North Africa. It is herbaceous, with no woody parts, ...

(''Conium maculatum'') and tree tobacco (''Nicotiana glauca''), induced "multiple congenital contractures (MCC) and palatoschisis in goat kids when their dams were gavaged with the plant during gestation." The skeletal abnormalities included fixed extension of the

carpal The carpal bones are the eight small bones that make up the wrist (carpus) that connects the hand to the forearm. The terms "carpus" and "carpal" are derived from the Latin carpus and the Greek καρπός (karpós), meaning "wrist". In huma ...

, tarsal and

fetlock Fetlock is the common name in horses, large animals, and sometimes dogs for the metacarpophalangeal and metatarsophalangeal joints (MCPJ and MTPJ). Although it somewhat resembles the human ankle in appearance, the joint is homologous to the ...

joints,

scoliosis Scoliosis (: scolioses) is a condition in which a person's Vertebral column, spine has an irregular curve in the coronal plane. The curve is usually S- or C-shaped over three dimensions. In some, the degree of curve is stable, while in others ...

lordosis Lordosis is historically defined as an ''abnormal'' inward curvature of the lumbar spine. However, the terms ''lordosis'' and ''lordotic'' are also used to refer to the normal inward curvature of the lumbar and cervical vertebrae, cervical regio ...

torticollis Torticollis, also known as wry neck, is an extremely painful, dystonic condition defined by an abnormal, asymmetrical head or neck position, which may be due to a variety of causes. The term ''torticollis'' is derived . The most common case ha ...

and rib cage problems. The clinical signs of toxicity in sheep, cattle and pigs included,

ataxia Ataxia (from Greek α- negative prefix+ -τάξις rder= "lack of order") is a neurological sign consisting of lack of voluntary coordination of muscle movements that can include gait abnormality, speech changes, and abnormalities in e ...

, incoordination, muscular weakness,

prostration Prostration is the gesture of placing one's body in a reverentially or submissively prone position. Typically prostration is distinguished from the lesser acts of bowing or kneeling by involving a part of the body above the knee, especially t ...

and death. It inhabits areas of dry slopes beneath pine trees, clay soils, grasslands,

coniferous Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...

forests, and areas in the San Jacinto, Santa Rosa and

San Gabriel Mountains The San Gabriel Mountains () are a mountain range located in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, California, United States. The mountain range is part of the Transverse Ranges and lies between the Los Angeles Basin and the Mojave Desert ...

. Its distribution extends across the state of California except for the eastern deserts and the plateaus east of the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

. This lupine blooms from April to August. It is one of the foodplants of the endangered

mission blue butterfly The Mission blue (''Icaricia icarioides missionensis'') is a blue or lycaenid butterfly subspecies native to the San Francisco Bay Area of the United States. The butterfly has been declared as endangered by the US federal government. It is a s ...

. There are two varieties. ''Lupinus formosus'' var. ''robustus'' is confined to the Sierra Nevada and the Southern Coast Ranges of California, while var ''formosus'' is more widespread. It is a larval host to the

Acmon blue Acmon Blue ''Icaricia acmon'', the Acmon blue, is a North American butterfly. It ranges mainly in California and Oregon but can also be seen in southwestern Canada and in the Great Plains Region of the United States, with a total range of abou ...

, arrowhead blue, Melissa blue,

silvery blue ''Glaucopsyche lygdamus'', the silvery blue, is a small butterfly native to North America. Description Its upperside is a light blue in males and a dull grayish blue in females. The underside is gray with a single row of round spots of diffe ...

, and sooty hairstreak.The Xerces Society (2016), ''Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects'', Timber Press.

References

External links

The Jepson eFlora 2013: ''Lupinus formosus''''Lupinus formosus'' — CalPhotos
formosus Flora of California Flora of Oregon Flora of the Cascade Range Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Plants described in 1891 Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Lupinus-stub