Lupinus padre-crowleyi
Encyclopedia
Lupinus padre-crowleyi is a rare species of lupin
e known by the common names DeDecker's lupine and Father Crowley's lupine. It is endemic to California
, where it is known only from the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada and the high plateau below along the western border of Inyo County
. It grows in the granite
soils of the mountain forests and scrub. It has been noted at fewer than 20 locations. This is a perennial herb growing an erect inflorescence
from a mat of silvery, woolly-haired herbage, reaching maximum heights over half a meter. Each palmate leaf is made up of 6 to 9 leaflets up to 7.5 centimeters long. The inflorescence is a raceme
of whorled flowers each just over a centimeter long. The flower is cream to pale brownish yellow in color. The fruit is a silky-haired legume pod containing black-mottled white seeds.
This lupine was described to science twice and today goes by its first official name, which honors local writer Father John J. Crowley. Its synonym
, Lupinus dedeckerae, honors plant collector Mary DeDecker.
Lupin
Lupinus, commonly known as Lupins or lupines , is a genus in the legume family . The genus comprises about 280 species , with major centers of diversity in South and western North America , and the Andes and secondary centers in the Mediterranean region and Africa Lupinus, commonly known as Lupins...
e known by the common names DeDecker's lupine and Father Crowley's lupine. It is endemic to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where it is known only from the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada and the high plateau below along the western border of Inyo County
Inyo County, California
-National protected areas:* Death Valley National Park * Inyo National Forest * Manzanar National Historic Site-Major highways:* U.S. Route 6* U.S. Route 395* State Route 127* State Route 136* State Route 168* State Route 178...
. It grows in the granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
soils of the mountain forests and scrub. It has been noted at fewer than 20 locations. This is a perennial herb growing an erect inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
from a mat of silvery, woolly-haired herbage, reaching maximum heights over half a meter. Each palmate leaf is made up of 6 to 9 leaflets up to 7.5 centimeters long. The inflorescence is a raceme
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
of whorled flowers each just over a centimeter long. The flower is cream to pale brownish yellow in color. The fruit is a silky-haired legume pod containing black-mottled white seeds.
This lupine was described to science twice and today goes by its first official name, which honors local writer Father John J. Crowley. Its synonym
Synonym (taxonomy)
In scientific nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that is or was used for a taxon of organisms that also goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnaeus was the first to give a scientific name to the Norway spruce, which he called Pinus abies...
, Lupinus dedeckerae, honors plant collector Mary DeDecker.