Lupins
Lupinus, commonly known as lupin, lupine is a genus of plants in the legume family Fabaceae
The genus includes over 199 species, with centers of diversity in North and South America.
They are cultivated, both as a food source and as ornamental plants, but are invasive to some areas
The species are mostly herbaceous perennial plants 0.3–1.5 metres (1–5 feet) tall
Lupins have soft green to grey-green leaves which may be coated in silvery hairs, often densely so
The leaf blades are usually palmately divided into five to 28 leaflets
The flowers are produced in dense or open whorls on an erect spike, each flower 1–2 centimetres long
The pea-like flowers have an upper standard, or banner, two lateral wings, and two lower petals fused into a keel
The flower shape has inspired common names such as bluebonnets and Quaker bonnets.
The fruit is a pod containing several seed
The word is 14th century in origin, from the Latin lupīnus "wolfish" from lupus "wolf" as it was believed that the plant ravenously exhausted the soil
The name could also indicate that lupinus meant that the plants were as dangerous to livestock as wolves, because the alkaloid poisons
Like other legumes, lupines can fix nitrogen from the atmosphere, fertilizing the soil for other plants This adaptation allows lupins to be tolerant of infertile soils and capable of pioneering change in barren and poor-quality soils
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