Lupinus arcticus S. Wats. subsp. arcticus
Lupine.
Fabaceae (Leguminosae), pea family.
Proc. Am. Acad. viii: 526. 1873.
Type: (Great) Bear Lake, Richardson. Lectotype designated by W.W. Eggleston: GH.
L. nootkatensis Donn var. Kjellmannii Cotf., Vidensk-Selsk.
Skr., Math.-Naturv. Kl. 8. 1910. Type: King Point, Yukon, Ostenfeld,
1908. Isotypeastern Canada.
L. gakonensis C.P. Smith, Sp. Lup. 649.
1949. Type: Gakona, Alaska, Anderson 8532, ISC.
L. multicaulis
C.P. Smith, Sp. Lup. 649. 1949. Type: Glenn Highway, Alaska, Anderson in
1944, ISC.
L. donnellyensis C.P. Smith, Sp. Lup. 654. 1949. Type:
Donnelly Dome, Richardson Highway, mile 253, Alaska, Anderson 2281, ISC.
L. multifolius C.P. Smith, Sp. Lup. 660. 1949. Type: Kluane Lake,
Yukon, Anderson 9449, ISC.
L. toklatensis A. Nels., Am. Jour.
Bot. 32: 288. 1945. Type: Tokllat area, Mile 56, Mt. McKinley Park, Alaska,
A.& R. Nelson 3568, RM, US.
L. yukonensis Greene, Leafl.
Bot. Obs. and Crit. 2: 233. 1912. Type: Klondike River, Yukon, Macoun, 9
July 1902. Isotype CAN.
Synonymy from Dunn and Gillett (1964).
Vegetative morphology. Plants perennial herbs; 10–40(–50) cm high; with basal leaves or spreading stems. Taproot present. Caudex present (stout). Aerial stems erect; densely hairy. Leaves in a basal tuft; alternate; compound; existing for a single season or less. Stipules present; scale-like; not sheathing; brown (densely hairy). Petioles 3–15(–22) mm long. Blades veins pinnate. Blades adaxial surface glabrous. Blades abaxial surface hairy. Blades abaxial surface hairs moderately dense. Blades abaxial surface pubescent, or hairs short-silky. Blades abaxial surface hairs a mixture of white and yellow hairs; straight, or wavy; appressed (mostly). Leaflet arrangement palmate, or digitate (dark green). Leaflets 3–7(–9); 10–60 mm long.
Reproductive morphology. Flowering stems present. Flowering stems without leaves; hairy. Inflorescence racemose; 3–15 cm long. Flowers per inflorescence (5–)10–30; large, more than 15 mm in diameter or length; zygomorphic (usually arising between two stipules on the rachis). Calyx sepals 5 (in two sections); fused. Calyx scarious; hairy. Petals both free and fused; 5; white (rarely), or purple, or blue (usually); with contrasting markings; unlobed, or shallowly lobed (banner petal); 10–15 mm long. Corolla papilionaceous. Stamens 10. Nectaries present. Gynoecia superior. Carpels monomerous. Styles 1. Stigmas per style 1. Ovules 13–15. Fruit or black; dry; a legume; ellipsoid (flattened); dehiscent. Fruit 20–30 mm long; 6–9 mm wide; green at maturity (a dark olive green); hairy (with black hairs). Legume valves twisted (strongly when dehisced). Styles may persist until dehiscence but are not modified. Seeds (3–)5–10; 4–6 mm long; black (with white flecks seen at 10X); with surfaces smooth.
Chromosome information. 2n = 48, 96. 48 (6x). -
Holmen (1962 Alaska); Hedberg (1967 Alaska, 2n = c.48); Johnson and
Packer (1968 northwestern Alaska ); Dawe and Murray (1979 Alaska).
96
(12x). - Porsild et al. (1967 northwestern America); Packer and McPherson
(1974 northern Alaska, 2n = c.96). Ploidy levels recorded 6x&12x.
Distribution. Northern hemisphere distribution: North American. Low arctic. Range in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago limited. Uncommon. Arctic Islands: Victoria.
Ecology and habitat. Substrates: wet meadows, tundra, slopes, ridges; imperfectly drained moist areas, or moderately well drained areas; sand, moss. Habitats: The habitat of this plant varies from mossy sedge flats, to low ridges in the Arctic Islands, to grassy alpine slopes further south.
Notes. There have been no nomenclatural disputes about the name of
this species. Subsp. arcticus is the only one extending into the Arctic
Islands, the other two subspecies occurring in southern British Columbia and
south into Washington. In the Arctic Islands the Arctic lupine is confined to
well-drained hummocks on tundra, but have occasionally been collected in sedge
meadows. Further south, near the Arctic Circle, it is found in forest clearings.
Lupinus arcticus is closely related to L. perennis L.
Walter
et al. (1994), studying alkaloid distribution in two species of Lupinus,
did not have data for the arctic subspecies, but found that L. arcticus
subsp. subalpinus had sparteine, beta-isiosparteine and multiflorine as
the major alkaloids.
Illustrations. • Plant in habitat, with author J.M. Gillett. Author J.M. Gillett sitting among lupins at N.W.T., Tuktoyaktuk, 21 July 1981, J.M. Gillett 18726. CAN. • Plant habit. Plants growing on dry hillside with Castilleja, at N.W.T., Tuktoyaktuk, 21 July 1981, J.M. Gillett 18726. CAN. • Close-up of inflorescence. Close-up of inflorescence showing petals with contrasting markings and stigma projecting through the tip of the keel petals. N.W.T., Tuktoyaktuk, 21 July 1981, J.M. Gillett 18726. CAN. • Inflorescence with developing fruit. Inflorescence with developing hairy legumes. N.W.T., Tuktoyaktuk, 21 July 1981, J.M. Gillett 18726. CAN. • Arctic island distribution.
Cite this publication as: ‘S.G. Aiken, M.J. Dallwitz, L.L. Consaul, C.L. McJannet, L.J. Gillespie, R.L. Boles, G.W. Argus, J.M. Gillett, P.J. Scott, R. Elven, M.C. LeBlanc, A.K. Brysting and H. Solstad. 1999 onwards. Flora of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago: Descriptions, Illustrations, Identification, and Information Retrieval. Version: 29th April 2003. http://www.mun.ca/biology/delta/arcticf/’. Dallwitz (1980) and Dallwitz, Paine and Zurcher (1993, 1995, 2000) should also be cited (see References).
