22 



BULLETIN 1245, TJ. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



THE PULSE FAMILY (FABACEAE) 



LUPINES (SPECIES OF LUPINUS) 



•*-■ 



Figure 11. — Sheep poisoned by chei*ry ; 

 breath 



The lupines are among the most conspicuous of the flowering plants 

 upon mountain ranges. They are scattered in a very large number 

 of species over practically all the grazing regions. They are known 



under a great variety 

 of common names, 

 among w h i c h are 

 " blue pea " and " wild 

 bean." 



The picture of the 

 silky lupine, Lupinus 

 sericeus (pi. 13) will 

 serve for the identifica- 

 tion of any of the lu- 

 pines. The form of the 

 leaf and the color of 

 the floAver, ordinarily 

 shades of purple or 

 blue, readily distin- 

 guish this plant from 

 others growing in the 

 same neighborhood. 

 The seeds are espe- 

 cially poisonous, and most cases of poisoning result from eating 

 the pods containing seeds. The pods alone, however, may poison, 

 and sometimes sheep are poisoned by the leaves, or by the leaves 

 in combination with the seed pods. 



The losses from 

 lupine poisoning are 

 mostly of sheep, al- 

 though some horses are 

 poisoned. Some of the 

 lupines growing in 

 California are known 

 to be distinctly poi- 

 sonous to cattle. It is 

 probable that the lu- 

 pines are the principal 

 cause of sheep losses in 

 the late summer and 

 fall months. It is not 

 by any means to be un- 

 derstood that sheep are 

 always poisoned when 

 they come upon a 

 patch of lupine, for 

 bands of sheep may feed through lupine for a whole season without 

 any harm. When, however, a hungry band comes upon a patch of lu- 

 pine at the time when the pods are filled with seeds, poisoning fre- 

 quently occurs. Cases of poisoning sometimes happen when sheep are 

 taken from the cars and allowed to graze freely on lupine. Many 



Figure 12. 



Sheep in the last stages of ehokecherry 

 poisoning 



