Lupine Lessons

The robust flower spikes that paint our forest floor purple are lupines. Though lupine seedpods look a lot like domestic peas and specific species were cultivated for thousands of years in the Andes and the Mediterranean, most species are poisonous and should not be eaten. The alkaloids in lupines have killed many sheep, horses, cows and goats.

Lupine (Lupinus) belongs to the Legume Family and we have ten species in Montana. In our rural environment where deer abound, lupines can be a rewarding addition to an unfenced flower garden because deer usually avoid them.

Besides being poisonous, lupines have developed other survival strategies:

- According to Daniel Matthews, author of "Rocky Mountain Natural History: Grand Teton to Jasper," bumblebees and lupines have developed a means of optimizing pollination. Most lupines have white spots on their upper petals. As their flowers get old and nectar supplies decrease, lupines communicate that fact by turning the white spots magenta. Bumblebees have learned not to visit magenta-spotted flowers, thereby conserving their energy and keeping old pollen out of the gene pool.

- Most lupines are covered with tiny hairs – referred to in botanical language as "pubescence." These fine hairs reflect sunlight away, which cools the plant's surface and reduces water loss. Pubescence also diminishes the wind's drying effect.

- Lupines fix atmospheric nitrogen into a form that they and other plants can use, fertilizing and enriching the soil as they grow. This nitrogen-fixing ability enables lupines to colonize depleted soils.

- Lupines have long taproots, which can reliably draw moisture from deep in the ground, enabling lupines to stay hydrated during summer's heat.

Clearly these hardy plants have figured out how to cope. If you ever need inspiration during trying times, you might contemplate a lupine.

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