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LUPINE (Lupinus)

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Originally appearing in Volume V17, Page 127 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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LUPINE (Lupinus) , in See also:botany, a genus of about 20o See also:species of See also:annual and perennial herbaceous See also:plants of the tribe Genisteae, of the See also:order See also:Leguminosae. Species with digitate leaves range along the See also:west See also:side of See also:America from See also:British See also:Columbia to See also:northern See also:Chile, while a few occur in the Mediterranean regions. A few others with entire leaves are found in See also:Brazil and eastern See also:North America. The leaves are remarkable for " sleeping " in three different ways. From being in the See also:form of a See also:horizontal See also:star by See also:day, the leaflets either fall and form a,hollow See also:cone with their 1 Many derivations are suggested, but it seems most probable that Luperci simply means " wolves " (the last See also:part of the word . exhibiting a similar formation to nov-erca), the name having its origin in the See also:primitive See also:worship of the See also:wolf as a wolf-See also:god. 2 See also:Mommsen considers the Quinctia to be the older gens, and the Quinctilia a later introduction from See also:Alba. bases upwards (L. pilosus), or rise and the cone is inverted (L. luteus), or else the shorter leaflets fall and the longer rise, and so together form a See also:vertical star as in many species; the See also:object in every See also:case being to protect the surfaces of the leaflets from See also:radiation and consequent wetting with See also:dew (See also:Darwin, Movements of Plants, p. 340). The See also:flowers are of the usual " papilionaceous " or See also:pea-like form, See also:blue, See also:white, See also:purple or yellow, in See also:long terminal spikes. The stamens are monadelphous and See also:bear dimorphic anthers. The species of which earliest mention is made is probably L. Termis, which was cultivated by the See also:ancient Egyptians.

It is See also:

wild in some parts of the Mediterranean See also:area and is extensively cultivated in See also:Egypt. Its seeds are eaten by the poor after being steeped in See also:water to remove their bitterness; the stems furnish See also:fuel and See also:charcoal for See also:gunpowder. The lupine of the ancient Greeks and See also:Romans was probably L. albus, which is still extensively cultivated in See also:Italy, See also:Sicily and other Mediterranean countries for See also:forage, for ploughing in to enrich the See also:land, and for its See also:round See also:flat seeds, which form an See also:article of See also:food. Yellow lupine (L. luteus) and blue lupine (L. angustifolius) are also cultivated on the See also:European See also:continent as See also:farm crops for See also:green manuring. Lupines are easily cultivated in moderately See also:good See also:garden See also:soil; they include annuals which are among the most ornamental and most easily grown of summer flowering plants (sow in open See also:borders in See also:April and May), and perennials, which are grown from See also:seed or propagated by dividing strong plants in See also:March and April. Many of the forms in cultivation are hybrid. One of the best known of the perennial species is L. polyphyllus, a western North See also:American species. It grows from 3 to 6 ft. high, and has numerous varieties, including a charming white-flowered one. The See also:tree lupine (L. arboreus) is a Californian See also:bush, 2 to 4 ft. high, with fragrant yellow flowers. It is only See also:hardy in the most favoured parts of the See also:kingdom.

End of Article: LUPINE (Lupinus)

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