LEGUMINOSAE (PULSE FAMILY) 



227 



when they remain green and succulent after grasses and other 

 plants have become dry. But observation and experiment have 

 demonstrated that, during the time of seed development, Lupines 

 are very injurious to grazing animals, particularly sheep. Cattle 

 usually reject the seeds, selecting the leafy parts of the plant which 

 seem to contain little, if any, of the poisonous property ; but the 

 seeds and pods contain a dangerous quantity 

 of a substance known as lupinotoxin, which 

 causes a disease called lupinosis, the acute 

 form of which may cause death in a few 

 hours, sometimes less than one. Sheep seem 

 to have a preference for the pods, often nib- 

 bling them from the plants and leaving the 

 rest. Cornevin states that in 1880 more 

 than fourteen thousand sheep died of this 

 complaint in Germany, where Lupines of 

 several species are much used as forage and 

 for reclaiming sandy soils where clover does 

 not readily "catch." 



This is rather a large species, one to 

 nearly two feet tall, the stems erect and 

 branching, covered with fine, appressed, 

 silky hairs which give it a glaucous ap- 

 pearance. Leaves on rather long petioles, 

 the leaflets seven to ten, about two inches 

 in length, short-spatulate, usually obtuse, 

 smooth above but appressed hairy beneath, 

 giving a glaucous appearance. Racemes 



long and graceful, the flowers large and not Lup ! n , e ( Lu Pinus plat- 



tensis). X J. 



crowded on the stalk, pale blue or pur- 

 plish, the standard having a conspicuous blotch of darker color. 

 Pods numerous, covered with appressed hairs, two- to five-seeded. 

 (Fig. 162.) 



Means of control 



Prevent seed production by cutting while in early bloom or 

 even before flowering. At times even the green fodder becomes 

 dangerous, causing bloat and other symptoms of unwholesomeness. 



FIG. 162. Nebraska 



