Wild Lupine 11
by Amy E Fraser
Title
Wild Lupine 11
Artist
Amy E Fraser
Medium
Photograph - Digital Photography
Description
Welcome to the Wild Lupine show in our amazing wildflower meadow! Spring has officially sprung once this fabulous purple display has begun. What started out as a few seeds a decade and a half ago has grown into a truly breath taking crop of floral magnificence… which we can take no actual credit for at this point as they are true survivors of the fittest in our rocky woodland meadow.
Wild Lupine (Lupinus perennis L.) blooms profusely in showy, spikes or elongate clusters of purple, pea-like flowers top the 1-2 ft. stems. The stems are light green to reddish green and have very attractive palm shaped leaves. The blooming period occurs from late spring to early summer and lasts about 1 month for a colony of plants. Afterwards, the flowers are replaced by elongated seedpods about 1¼-2" long and canescent-hairy. Each seedpod contains about 7 seeds, which can be ejected several feet away from the mother plant. The root system consists of a taproot with rhizomes. Reproduction is by seed and vegetative clones from the rhizomes. Lupinus is from the Latin word lupus meaning "wolf," alluding to the belief that these plants robbed the soil, which is the opposite of the truth. Lupine actually helps to increase soil nitrogen. The use of this plant for medicinal purposes is not recommended as it is quite toxic and potentially fatal. Toxicity in lupine is believed to result primarily from the alkaloid D-lupaine. The signs of lupine poisoning can develop within an hour or may take as long as a day. They include twitching, nervousness, and depression, difficulty in moving and breathing, and loss of muscular control. If large quantities were consumed, convulsions, coma, and death by respiratory paralysis may occur. Native Americans brewed a leaf tea and drank it cold to treat nausea and internal hemorrhaging. They also used it as a fodder for horses to fatten them and make them "spirited and full of fire".
Wild Purple Lupine Photographs by Amy E. Fraser. Images captured in the lush gardens surrounding Amy E. Fraser’s home in the beautiful state of New Hampshire. All images copyright Amy E. Fraser. All rights reserved.
Uploaded
February 8th, 2019
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