Lupine

Scientific Name:

Lupinus albifrons

Physical Appearance: 

  • Tall shrubs with vertical flower clusters that form into a pointed tip

  • Usually blueish purple flowers, but some varieties have yellow or white flowers 

  • Leaves are palmate

    • Aka multiple leaflets are growing from a single point on the stalk/stem

  • I have never seen the lupine at menlo bloom, but hopefully, someone else can add photos of it once it does

When Does It Grow: 

  • Spring and Summer 

Preferred Environment:

  • Slopes of hills

  • Dry areas

  • Open woodland  

Medicinal Uses: 

  • The seeds can be soaked and opened to be applied to open sores on the skin 

  • Some Native Americans would make cold tea from seeds to treat nausea and urination issues 

Role in the Ecosystem: 

  • Poisonous to animals, especially the seeds… as you can imagine, it is not a key food source 

    • This is not true to all varieties of lupine, yet it is hard to distinguish between which are toxic and which are not

Random: 

  • YOU ARE LEARNING ABOUT THIS: 

    • Lupine has legumes on its roots! For what? They host symbiotic bacteria that convert nitrogen gas into usable nitrogen (ammonia) for the plant… NITROGEN CYCLE BABY 

    • Also, this is a super useful adaptation as it allows lupine to grow in areas with less fertile soil and can commonly be a pioneer plant (another vocab word from class :))

  • The name Lupine is Latin for “wolf”… Why? Well, people wrongly assumed that the plants drained minerals from the soil which can also be known as “wolfing” 

    • Fun fact: this is actually super wrong, lupine is actually known to benefit its soil by its nitrogen fixation 

  • Lupine legumes, aka lupine beans, are a common snack in Latin America after being pickled