Lupinus nipomensis
Encyclopedia
Lupinus nipomensis is a species of lupin
e known by the common name Nipomo Mesa lupine. It is endemic to the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes
on the California Central Coast. Specifically, the plant is limited to the Guadalupe Dunes at the southern border of San Luis Obispo County
. There are five to seven colonies growing in a strip of sand dunes
measuring less than three square miles in area. These colonies are generally considered to make up a single population. The number of individual plants remaining has been observed to vary between 100 and 1,800, its abundance depending on the amount of rainfall. This is a federally listed endangered species
.
Nipomo Mesa lupine is a a small, spreading annual herb with a stem reaching 10 to 20 centimeters in length. Each palmate leaf is made up of 5 to 7 narrow, succulent leaflets between 1 and 1.5 centimeters long and just a few millimeters wide. The herbage is hairy in texture. The inflorescence
is a small, crowded raceme
of flowers each 6 to 7 millimeters long. The flower is pink with a lighter, sometimes yellowish spot on its banner. The fruit is a legume pod up to 2 centimeters long.
This plant is restricted to a small system of sand dunes all located on privately owned land. The biggest threats to its existence include invasive species
of plants, particularly perennial veldtgrass
(Ehrharta calycina), and herbivory
by Botta's pocket gopher
(Thomomys bottae).
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 name Nipomo Mesa lupine. It is endemic to the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes
Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes
Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes is the largest remaining dune system south of San Francisco and the second largest in the U.S. state of California. It encompasses an stretch of coastline on the Central Coast of California and extends from southern San Luis Obispo County to northern Santa Barbara County.The...
on the California Central Coast. Specifically, the plant is limited to the Guadalupe Dunes at the southern border of San Luis Obispo County
San Luis Obispo County, California
San Luis Obispo County is a county located along the Pacific Ocean in the Central Coast of the U.S. state of California, between Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2010 census its population was 269,637, up from 246,681 at the 2000 census...
. There are five to seven colonies growing in a strip of sand dunes
Dune
In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by wind. Dunes occur in different forms and sizes, formed by interaction with the wind. Most kinds of dunes are longer on the windward side where the sand is pushed up the dune and have a shorter "slip face" in the lee of the wind...
measuring less than three square miles in area. These colonies are generally considered to make up a single population. The number of individual plants remaining has been observed to vary between 100 and 1,800, its abundance depending on the amount of rainfall. This is a federally listed endangered species
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
.
Nipomo Mesa lupine is a a small, spreading annual herb with a stem reaching 10 to 20 centimeters in length. Each palmate leaf is made up of 5 to 7 narrow, succulent leaflets between 1 and 1.5 centimeters long and just a few millimeters wide. The herbage is hairy in texture. The 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...
is a small, crowded 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 flowers each 6 to 7 millimeters long. The flower is pink with a lighter, sometimes yellowish spot on its banner. The fruit is a legume pod up to 2 centimeters long.
This plant is restricted to a small system of sand dunes all located on privately owned land. The biggest threats to its existence include invasive species
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
of plants, particularly perennial veldtgrass
Ehrharta calycina
Ehrharta calycina is a species of grass known by the common names perennial veldtgrass and purple veldtgrass. It is native to southern Africa, but it is known elsewhere as an introduced species, often becoming weedy...
(Ehrharta calycina), and herbivory
Herbivore
Herbivores are organisms that are anatomically and physiologically adapted to eat plant-based foods. Herbivory is a form of consumption in which an organism principally eats autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria. More generally, organisms that feed on autotrophs in...
by Botta's pocket gopher
Botta's pocket gopher
Botta's pocket gopher is a pocket gopher native to western North America, from California east to Texas and from southern Utah and Colorado south to Mexico...
(Thomomys bottae).