Lupinus bicolor

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Plant

DESCRIPTION:

General: This is a small, blue and white, annual lupine growing to 16 in. in height. Leaves: A usually small, grayish, hairy, branched plant with palmately compound leaves and blue-violet and white pea flowers arranged in whorls in short, thick, cone-like racemes. Flowers: The pea-like flowers occur in a short raceme and are subtended by small, palmately compound leaves. Fruits: Slightly hairy pods to 3cm long.

Description 2: This is a small, blue and white, annual lupine growing to 16 in. in height. A usually small, grayish, hairy, branched plant with palmately compound leaves and blue-violet and white pea flowers arranged in whorls in short, thick, cone-like racemes. The pea-like flowers occur in a short raceme and are subtended by small, palmately compound leaves.

Miniature Lupine and California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica) are common companions, the blue cast given to fields by the lupine perfectly complementing the fiery orange of the poppy. There are many other annual lupines. The oldest known viable seeds, discovered in 1967 frozen in a lemming burrow, are from an Arctic lupine estimated to be 10,000 years old; when planted the seeds germinated in 48 hours.

Description 3: Annual, brown-hairy herb, 10-45 cm tall, erect or nearly so. Leaves palmately compound; 5-8 leaflets, to 4 cm long, hairy above (not below). Flowers blue and white, pea-like, small (to 7 mm long); in short clusters. Fruits are slightly hairy pods to 3 cm long

LUBI PatMontegue flw good.jpg

Seed

Lupinus bicolor

Abbreviation: LUBI

Seed sample from: 2011

Average Measurement: 2.4 x 1.9 x 0.9

Measurement Range: L: 2 - 3, W: 1.75 - 2.25, D: 0.75 - 1

Features

Color: Seeds mostly brown, speckled with brown, gray, off-white, and/ or black. Seeds have distinctive black splotchy line that crosses the lateral seed face to encircle the hilum, inside of which is another similar white line. Seed edges are less heavily speckled with dark colors, giving them a more off-white appearance.

Surface: Seed surface smooth and glossy, with some small concave pockets.


Latitudinal Cross Section: elliptical LUBI-lat-crosssection.png

Longitudinal Cross Section: elliptical LUBI-long-crosssection.png



Basic Explanations and Assumptions:

The dimensions for the seeds are length x width x depth. The location of the hilum is used as the base of the seed, and the length is measured from hilum to the opposite apex. Where a style is present, the length is measured from the hilum to the bottom of the style. Width is measured at a right angle to the length at the widest part. Depth is measured at a right angle to the intersection of height and width lines.

Measurements included are the mean average for each measurement of ten separate seeds.

All measurements in millimeters unless otherwise noted.