Lupinus arboreus vs Ulex europaeus
These two are not on this page because a keyword tool suggested them. They are here because our own identification model genuinely mistook one for the other, on real photographs, 4 times. We publish the rate, and then we tell you what actually separates them.
Side by sidefigs. a and b
Lupinus arboreus
Ulex europaeus
How often our model gets it wrong measured, not estimated
| When the plant was | The model said | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Lupinus arboreus | Ulex europaeus | 4 of 19 (21%) |
The confusion runs one way only. The model mistakes Lupinus arboreus for Ulex europaeus, but not the reverse.
Measured on 38,299 openly licensed, research-grade photographs. Full method and dataset.
What actually separates themon the record
| Family | Both Fabaceae. The family does not separate them. |
|---|---|
| Genus | Lupinus versus Ulex. |
| Flowering | Peaks in May versus April. If the plant is in flower, timing helps. (n = 2,171 and 3,500.) |
What we do not have yet: the diagnostic morphological character that a botanist would key on, from a source we can cite. We are not going to invent one. Until we have it, this page tells you the two are genuinely confusable, how often, and what the taxonomy and the flowering data do and do not settle.