4,295 articles
Lolium temulentum
Lolium temulentum, darnel or darnel ryegrass, an annual Poaceae weed of cereal fields, toxic via fungal alkaloids, native to Macaronesia, North Africa and temperate Eurasia, never domesticated despite Neolithic co-occurrence with crops.
Lonas annua
Lonas annua (L.) Vines & Druce, yellow ageratum or African daisy, is the sole species of genus Lonas in Asteraceae tribe Anthemideae, an annual native to Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Sicily, and Sardinia, grown for yellow dried flowers.
Lonchocarpus
Lonchocarpus (lance fruit genus) is a genus of about 168 accepted Fabaceae trees and shrubs of tropical America and Africa, tribe Millettieae; roots of L. utilis, urucu, and nicou yield rotenone, used as insecticide and fish poison.
Long pepper
Long pepper (Piper longum), also pippali, an Indian spice vine in Piperaceae; dried catkin spikes 5–25 mm, pungent like black pepper, Ayurvedic trikatu ingredient, once Rome's favored pepper.
Longan
Longan (Dimocarpus longan, 龙眼, dragon eye) is a subtropical Sapindaceae fruit tree from southern China, grown commercially in China, Thailand, and Taiwan; its white aril fruit is eaten fresh or dried as the TCM medicine Longan Arillus.
Lonicera caerulea
Lonicera caerulea, blue honeysuckle, honeyberry, or haskap, is a cold-hardy Caprifoliaceae shrub of temperate Eurasia and North America producing early-ripening dark blue berries rich in cyanidin-3-glucoside anthocyanins, grown commercially in Canada, Japan, Russia, and Poland.
Lonicera japonica
Lonicera japonica, Japanese honeysuckle or Jin Yin Hua, is an Asian twining honeysuckle vine used in traditional Chinese medicine and one of the worst invasive plants in eastern North America.
Lonicera periclymenum
Lonicera periclymenum, European honeysuckle or woodbine, is a deciduous twining vine native to Europe and Morocco, with fragrant white-to-yellow flowers, red berries, and two accepted subspecies.
Lonicera xylosteum
Lonicera xylosteum, fly honeysuckle or dwarf honeysuckle, is a deciduous Caprifoliaceae shrub native from Europe to Central Siberia and NE Türkiye, with hollow twigs, paired yellowish-white flowers, red berries, 2n=18, and invasive status in parts of North America.
Loose smut
Loose smut, caused by Ustilago nuda in barley and U. tritici in wheat, is an internally seed-borne smut disease that replaces grain with wind-dispersed teliospores; controlled by certified seed and systemic fungicides.
Lophira
Lophira Banks ex C.F.Gaertn. is a genus of two African tree species in the Ochnaceae family, native from western tropical Africa to Uganda, first published in 1805.
Lophophora
Lophophora, or peyote cactus genus (Lophophora williamsii), spineless low-growing Cactaceae from Texas and Mexico; four accepted species, mescaline-bearing, IUCN Vulnerable, CITES Appendix II.
Loquat
Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica; pipa 枇杷, biwa) is a Chinese-origin evergreen Rosaceae tree with winter flowers and spring yellow pomes; non-climacteric fruit, cold-sensitive bloom, grown in over 30 countries.
Lotus
Lotus L. (trefoils, birdsfoot trefoil) is an Old World Fabaceae genus of herbs and shrublets in tribe Loteae, published 1753, with Lotus corniculatus as major forage and Lotus japonicus as a model legume; unrelated to Nelumbo, the sacred lotus.
Lotus corniculatus
Lotus corniculatus, known as bird's-foot trefoil, is a perennial flowering legume of the pea family, native to temperate Eurasia and grown as forage that does not cause bloat in livestock.
Lotus seed
Lotus seed, the edible seed of Nelumbo nucifera (sacred lotus, lianzi), a long-lived aquatic crop seed eaten as paste, soups, and flour; notable for 1300-year viability record, hard impermeable coat requiring scarification, and food-medicine status in China.
Lovage
Lovage (Levisticum officinale, Maggi plant, Liebstöckel) is a tall Apiaceae perennial herb native to Iran-Afghanistan, with a strong celery-parsley, umami flavor from ligustilide; once a Roman staple in Apicius, now largely replaced by celery and parsley.
Lucuma
Lucuma (Lucuma bifera, formerly Pouteria lucuma), the Andean "Gold of the Incas" fruit tree of Sapotaceae; sweet ovoid fruit from Peru, Chile and Ecuador, grown to 3,000 m, milled into flour for desserts and ice cream.
Ludwigia
Ludwigia is a genus of about 87 species of flowering plants in the evening-primrose family, mostly annual or perennial herbs of wet places with usually yellow flowers.
Luffa
Luffa (loofah, 丝瓜; Luffa aegyptiaca, L. acutangula) is a Cucurbitaceae vine genus grown for edible immature fruit and for dried fibrous sponges; tropical Asian origin, eight species, trellised warm-season crop.
Luma
Luma A.Gray is a genus of two Myrtaceae tree species, L. apiculata (arrayán, Chilean myrtle) and L. chequen, native to Chile and western Argentina, grown ornamentally and for honey, fruit, and hard timber.
Lunaria
Lunaria (honesty, money plant, silver dollar) is a European Brassicaceae genus with three species, L. annua, L. rediviva, and L. telekiana, known for silvery disc-like seed pods and erucic and nervonic acid rich seed oil.
Lunaria annua
Lunaria annua, honesty or annual honesty (money plant, silver dollar plant), is a biennial Brassicaceae herb native to south-central and southern Europe, grown for pink spring flowers and papery coin-like silicles used in dried arrangements.
Lupin bean
Lupin bean (lupini), seed of Lupinus crop species, a Mediterranean and Andean legume food. Bitter quinolizidine alkaloids require debittering; sweet low-alkaloid cultivars exist; cross-reacts with peanut allergy.
Lupinus
Lupinus, commonly known as lupins or lupines, is a genus of herbs and shrubs in the legume family, Fabaceae, first published by Linnaeus in 1753.
Lupinus albus
Lupinus albus (white lupin, white lupine; synonym Lupinus termis) is an annual Mediterranean Fabaceae legume domesticated 3,000–4,000 years ago, with 38–44% seed protein, cluster roots for phosphate uptake, and subspecies albus and graecus.
Lupinus angustifolius
Lupinus angustifolius, narrow-leafed or blue lupin, Australian Sweet Lupin: annual Mediterranean legume domesticated from 1929, first WA cultivar 1967, over 95% of WA lupin grain, protein-rich seed used for feed and food.
Lupinus luteus
Lupinus luteus (yellow lupin, European yellow lupine) is an annual Mediterranean legume grown on sandy acidic soils for forage, feed, and green manure; domesticated for low alkaloids in 20th-century Germany.
Lupinus mutabilis
Lupinus mutabilis (tarwi, chocho, Andean lupin) is an Andean domesticated lupin with the highest protein (44%) and oil (18%) content among cultivated lupins, comparable to soybean, requiring debittering to remove quinolizidine alkaloids.
Luther college herbarium
Luther College herbarium (LCDI), Decorah, Iowa: small teaching herbarium founded 1968 with about 1,000 pressed plant specimens, strong in northeastern Iowa flora, curated by Beth Lynch and digitized via iDigBio.