ColorChallenge SundayPurple - Silvery Lupine [Nature on the Farmstead #2]steemCreated with Sketch.

in #homesteading7 years ago (edited)

I've been waiting for Sunday (ColorChallenge PURPLE DAY) to roll around so I can show you one my favorite Wildflowers that grows rampant on my farmstead and in the area. Lupine!

Lupine

I took this picture with my iPhone.

Silvery Lupine (Lupinus argenteus var. argenteus)

Silvery Lupine is a part of the Fabaceae (Pea Family). It is a great nitrogen fixer and native pollinators totally love it. I shared the other day about the Silvery Blue Butterfly, which like to lay eggs on Fabaceae type plants.

These plants are a perennial to my area and come back on their own and they reseed themselves real nicely. These are able to grow in full sun to part shade environments where the ground is real dry and can also be rocky.

They started blooming in May and are continuing to bloom while their seed pods are developing, drying up, and even releasing seed - they're supposed to bloom throughout the summer season.

Silvery Lupines are native to much of the Western North Americas, from the South Western parts of the Canadian provinces down through much of California.

leaf and pod

Poisonous

Lupines are a poisonous plant so you wont want to eat any part of it, even if the seed pods look like tasty pea-pods. Lupines can be very poisonous to pets, dogs (learn more about lupine poisoning in dogs) (I believe 99% of dogs are smart enough not to eat them - my dog hasn't), and livestock such as horse, sheep, and cattle. Sometimes if a cow eats lupine during certain gestational periods, the fetus can have birth defects. Poisonings can be avoided if hungry animals are kept away during times of high toxicity like in the beginning growth stage of a young plant and during the seeding stage in the fall.

Not all lupines are poisonous, nor do all species cause birth defects. Six of the poisonous species implicated in "crooked calf disease" are silky lupine (L. sericeus), tailcup lupine (L. caudatus), velvet lupine (L. leucophyllus), silvery lupine (L. argenteus), lunara lupine (L. formosus), and yellow lupine (L. sulphureus). (USDA)

Beneficial Plants

Lupines are, however, very beneficial plants as they attract lovely pollinators like bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds and they are Nitrogen Fixers. They are deer resistant which makes them a great plant to grow if you have a wildlife nuisance like deer! Deer will often overlook these for more juicy looking plants, but will go after these if there's a large deer population or if other food sources are not available.

I urge you to find plants native to your area because native plants are great to grow in your garden as they often don't take to many diseases as easily and after establishment they don't require as much, if any additional waterings! The plant shown here has not had any additional water other than what the rains have given (and that's not much at all).


**Please note:** *I am not a professional plant identifier but the Silvery Lupine is the closest I could get on this identification. Lupines are hard to identify because they all look very similar, they also have different growth patterns in different environments even if they are of the same variety. *

I have what I think are three different kinds of lupine on my property. One being a low growing type (which I think are commonly called "Prairie Lupine" and then this type which grow 1-3 feet tall and the other being a mid-size that get to be around 1-2ft tall. -- If you think I have the identification incorrect, please kindly let me know what you think the plant actually is, why, and a reputable resource explaining, thank you! I am eager to learn!

Info Sources


As always @farmstead here blogging from FarmsteadSmith!
no make up omg


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  • Nature on the Farmstead - These posts will be educational and informative about the nature that happens on my farmstead. Look forward to posts about wild animals, birds, wildflowers and plants, insects, and more!

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WOW!!! I love you =) okay maybe that's getting a little ahead of myself. those are beautiful!! I had no idea they were nitrogen fixers. We have them around where I live in Montana too, in fact someone showed me something REALLY trippy about lupines the other day.

Take one of the 'bottom' petals from a flower combo, and push lightly down on it...a black spine will emerge and squish out pollen !!!!!! It's wicked cool =)

Maybe I love you too? You don't know!

I'll have to try that tomorrow and see! You should take a pic and share!

Yeah, all pea family plants are nitrogen fixers, pretty cool!

I don't think I have any right near my town right now, the last ones I can remember seeing are about 40 miles away on the other side of the great divide. I'll keep my eyes posted though, you take a picture and show us!!!!

I will do my best to remember. (Which, maybe you'll have to remind me!) My best to remember fails often. Hahaha

I read this again and it sounds a wee bit abusive. Hahahaha. Poor things. Gonna do it anyway!

Once you start...!!!

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They are beautiful! Isn't it amazing when parts of nature serves a dual purpose? Looking forward to your next post.

Thank you! They really are cool plants. I was happy to see that I have so many on my property!

You have an excellent eye for taking photos

Amazing blog post. This flower if im not incorrect is called "Horsma" in finnish :) Upvoted.

I think actually Horsma is a different plant, but it looks really similar! :) They're not the same family. Thanks @styxer!

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