Kincaid’s lupine (Lupinus sulphureus ssp. kincaidii (Smith) Phillips) is a rare endemic plant of the Willamette Valley. This member of the Fabaceae is a long-lived perennial plant of native upland prairie remnants. It was listed as a Threatened species under the Endangered Species Act in January of 2000. It is also a nearly obligate larval foodplant of a rare butterfly, Fender’s blue butterfly, which was concurrently listed as an Endangered species. Low seed production and progeny fitness has been observed in many populations. This is suspected to be a result of possible self-incompatibility and inbreeding depression in small isolated populations. As part of a study of Kincaid’s lupine biology, the effects of gamete source on seed production and progeny fitness were tested, with hand pollination treatments, in two natural populations. Pollination treatments were used as an indirect method to assess the effects of selfing versus crossing across various genetic distances. Inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers are also being used as a PCR-based method to genotype sampled plants in the gamete source experiment. These data will be used to calculate the genetic distance between individuals used in the crossing treatments, and these values will be correlated with seed set and progeny performance. These molecular markers will also allow estimation of genetic diversity, and may indicate population viability concerns. The extent of clonal growth and spread in the two study populations will also be documented.

Key words: endemic, hand pollination, inter-sequence-series repeat, Kincaid's, lupine, Lupinus sulphureus ssp. kincaidii