Saturday, January 15, 2011

Lupine Today's Flowers


Wild lupine is a native member of the Fabaceae or pea family. They bloom in early summer and tend to grow better with a lot of sun. The blossoms grow in a spike type of cluster and usually come in a shade of purple.
Wild lupine can often be found growing in open fields and in road side ditches where the blossoms attract bees and butterflies. It is usually one of the first wildflowers to take hold in freshly cleared areas.
The amount of wild lupine in this area has been decreasing. As fields age other plants, trees and shrubs grow in and choke the lupine for space or rob it of sunlight. Originally this over growth was taken care of by occasional wild fires which would clear the field allowing the lupine to take hold again. Unfortunately because of fire maintenance by people the lupine has not been able to find as much habitat. This has greatly affected the Karner blue because its larvae will only eat lupine. Because of this the Karner Blue is on the endangered species list.

7 comments:

Cindy @ Dwellings-The Heart of Your Home said...

Beautiful pictures!

Lavender and Vanilla Friends of the Gardens said...

The butterfly's visit is wonderful. Love the pictures. I thought you had to add some wings!

Anonymous said...

Very great pictures, I just love them! :)

lotusleaf said...

LOvely lupines. That shows how everything is connected.

Vasi Dubreu said...

Foarte frumoase fotografii.
Sa ai o zi buna!

DeniseinVA said...

Lovely!

Míriam Luiza said...

As fotos são lindas! A borboleta e a abelha parecem reais!