Oxytropis campestris, the field locoweed,[1] is a plant native to Northern Europe, the mountains of Central & Southern Europe, the Northwestern United States and all of Canada, sometimes grown as an ornamental plant.
It is found in prairies, woods, and meadows, and prefers gravelly and rocky slopes, where it grows most abundantly. The plant has numerous variants. It is a larval host plant of the small blue butterfly[2]
Oxytropis campestris blooms flowers from May to July. These are racemes that are capitate or oblong, 4 to 15 cm in length. The plants have 8 to 32 flowers that rise from a scape. The actual flowers have five lobes and form a calyx tube. They are of a cream to yellowish color, but sometimes of pink, blue, or purple, with hairs that are usually black. The keel petals are pointed, and often have purple blotches.
The plant also produces fruit which matures from July to September. These are legumes which are oblong-ovate 1.5 to 2 cm in length. They are mostly sessile and dehiscent from the tip. The fruit is membranous and contains many seeds.
The plant grows perennially, with an acaulescent forb reaching 20 to 50 cm in height and has a taproot.
Leaves grow alternately in a pinnate fashion and are usually 8 to 40 cm long. The leaves are dimorphic, with primary leaves short ovate leaflets, and secondary leaves with 11 to 33 leaflets. These secondary leaflets are 1 to 2.5 cm long.
Toxicityedit
The Oxytropis campestris plant is poisonous and may cause loco disease in livestock. From this it derives the common name field locoweed or some other variations. It is therefore worthless as food and is consumed only when other forage is not available.[3]
Conservationedit
Though this plant is common in general, one variety, var. chartacea, is a rare taxon limited to two counties in the state of Wisconsin. It is federally listed as a threatened species of the United States.[4][5]
^USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Oxytropis campestris". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
^Asher, Jim. The millennium atlas of butterflies in Britain and Ireland. New York: Oxford University Press.
^Stubbendieck, James; Hatch, Stephan L; Butterfield, Charles H (February 1, 1992). North American Range Plants. U of Nebraska Press. ISBN0-8032-9205-8. p. 357.
^USFWS. Determination of threatened status for Oxytropis campestris var. chartacea. Federal Register September 28, 1988.
^USFWS. Oxytropis campestris var. chartacea Five-year Review. 2009.
External linksedit
Media related to Oxytropis campestris at Wikimedia Commons
oxytropis, campestris, examples, perspective, this, article, deal, primarily, with, north, america, represent, worldwide, view, subject, improve, this, article, discuss, issue, talk, page, create, article, appropriate, november, 2014, learn, when, remove, this. The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with North America and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject You may improve this article discuss the issue on the talk page or create a new article as appropriate November 2014 Learn how and when to remove this message Oxytropis campestris the field locoweed 1 is a plant native to Northern Europe the mountains of Central amp Southern Europe the Northwestern United States and all of Canada sometimes grown as an ornamental plant Oxytropis campestris Conservation status Secure NatureServe Scientific classification Kingdom Plantae Clade Tracheophytes Clade Angiosperms Clade Eudicots Clade Rosids Order Fabales Family Fabaceae Subfamily Faboideae Genus Oxytropis Species O campestris Binomial name Oxytropis campestris L DC Synonyms Oxytropis gracilis A Nelson K Schum It is found in prairies woods and meadows and prefers gravelly and rocky slopes where it grows most abundantly The plant has numerous variants It is a larval host plant of the small blue butterfly 2 Contents 1 Description 2 Toxicity 3 Conservation 4 See also 5 References 5 1 External linksDescription editOxytropis campestris blooms flowers from May to July These are racemes that are capitate or oblong 4 to 15 cm in length The plants have 8 to 32 flowers that rise from a scape The actual flowers have five lobes and form a calyx tube They are of a cream to yellowish color but sometimes of pink blue or purple with hairs that are usually black The keel petals are pointed and often have purple blotches The plant also produces fruit which matures from July to September These are legumes which are oblong ovate 1 5 to 2 cm in length They are mostly sessile and dehiscent from the tip The fruit is membranous and contains many seeds The plant grows perennially with an acaulescent forb reaching 20 to 50 cm in height and has a taproot Leaves grow alternately in a pinnate fashion and are usually 8 to 40 cm long The leaves are dimorphic with primary leaves short ovate leaflets and secondary leaves with 11 to 33 leaflets These secondary leaflets are 1 to 2 5 cm long Toxicity editThe Oxytropis campestris plant is poisonous and may cause loco disease in livestock From this it derives the common name field locoweed or some other variations It is therefore worthless as food and is consumed only when other forage is not available 3 Conservation editThough this plant is common in general one variety var chartacea is a rare taxon limited to two counties in the state of Wisconsin It is federally listed as a threatened species of the United States 4 5 See also editLocoweedReferences edit USDA NRCS n d Oxytropis campestris The PLANTS Database plants usda gov Greensboro North Carolina National Plant Data Team Retrieved 26 July 2015 Asher Jim The millennium atlas of butterflies in Britain and Ireland New York Oxford University Press Stubbendieck James Hatch Stephan L Butterfield Charles H February 1 1992 North American Range Plants U of Nebraska Press ISBN 0 8032 9205 8 p 357 USFWS Determination of threatened status for Oxytropis campestris var chartacea Federal Register September 28 1988 USFWS Oxytropis campestris var chartacea Five year Review 2009 External links edit nbsp Media related to Oxytropis campestris at Wikimedia Commons Pink A 2004 Gardening for the Million Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation nbsp This Faboideae related article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Oxytropis campestris amp oldid 1183445483, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
