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Lupinus albus

Common name:	White Lupin	Family:	Leguminosae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	50, 200
Synonyms:	Lupinus sativus
Known Hazards:	The seed of many lupin species contain bitter-tasting toxic alkaloids, though there are often sweet varieties within that species that are completely wholesome[65, 76]. Taste is a very clear indicator. These toxic alkaloids can be leeched out of the seed by soaking it overnight and discarding the soak water. It may also be necessary to change the water once during cooking. Fungal toxins also readily invade the crushed seed and can cause chronic illness[65].
Range:	S. Europe to Asia.
Habitat:	Disturbed ground on acid soils[45, 50].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	4	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	L. termis[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Beyaz Acibakla [E], Lupino [E], White Lupin [H], White Lupine [P,B],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	albus = white
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Fabales. Renamed to Fabaceae -- Pea family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Italy Turkey

Physical Characteristics

Annual growing to 1.2m by 0.25m . . It is in flower from June to July, and the seeds ripen from August to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. It can fix Nitrogen. We rate it 4/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid soil. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Cultivar 'Kiev': Cultivated Beds.
Cultivar 'Primorsky': Cultivated Beds.
Cultivar 'Ultra': Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Coffee Oil Seed.

Seed - cooked[2, 7, 50, 105, 132]. Used as a protein-rich vegetable or savoury dish in any of the ways that cooked beans are used, they can also be roasted or ground into a powder and mixed with cereal flours in making bread etc[183]. If the seed is bitter this is due to the presence of toxic alkaloids and the seed should be thoroughly leached by soaking it and then discarding the soak water before cooking[132]. Seeds contain 32 - 40% protein, 8 - 12% oil[160]. The roasted seeds can be used as a snack in much the same way as peanuts[183].
An edible oil is obtained from the seed[4, 7].
The roasted seed is used as a coffee substitute[7, 61, 105, 183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Diuretic Emmenagogue Hypoglycaemic Vermifuge.

The seeds, taken internally, are diuretic, emmenagogue, hypoglycaemic and vermifuge[4, 7]. When bruised and soaked in water they are used as a poultice on ulcers etc[4].

Other Uses

Cosmetic Fibre Green manure Oil.

The seed contains up to 12% oil. This is used in making soap[7].
A fibre obtained from the stems is used for making cloth etc[4].
A cosmetic face-mask can be made from lupin flour, this is used to invigorate tired skin[7].
A useful spring-sown green manure crop, especially on light soils. It is deep rooting, fairly fast growing, produces a good bulk and fixes atmospheric nitrogen[7, 46, 61, 87].

Cultivation details

An easily grown plant, succeeding in any moderately good soil. It prefers a light acid soil but tolerates adverse conditions[87]. Requires a sunny position[200].
The white lupin is sometimes cultivated, especially in S. Europe, for its edible seed[50] and also as a green manure crop[4]. There are some named varieties, many of which have bitter seeds that contain toxic alkaloids and require leaching before they are eaten but some sweet varieties have also been developed[183]. These sweet varieties are perfectly wholesome as food for humans and include the cultivar 'Kiev'[183].
There is some confusion between this species and L. nanus[1].
A deep rooting plant[87].
This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[200]. When removing plant remains at the end of the growing season, it is best to only remove the aerial parts of the plant, leaving the roots in the ground to decay and release their nitrogen.

Propagation

Pre-soak the seed for 24 hours in warm water and sow in mid spring in situ[1, 200]. You may need to protect the seed from mice. Germination should take place within 2 weeks.

Cultivars

'Ultra': The low alkaloid seeds average 3170 seeds to the kilo[183]. The protein content is around 34.3%[183]. This is the cultivar most commonly used for sweet lupin pasta[183]. Plants mature after about 110 days from seed, flowering after 57 days[183]. They are fairly short, to 48cm tall[183].
'Strain 21': The low alkaloid seeds average 3160 seeds to the kilo[183]. They contain no trypsin inhibitors. Crude fibre is about 12 - 15%[183]. Plants mature after about 114 days from seed, flowering after 56 days[183]. They are fairly short, to 50cm tall[183].
'Primorsky': Maturing in 110 days from seed, the low-alkaloid seeds average 3430 seeds to the kilo[183]. The average protein content is 37.5% and oil varies from 9 - 13%[183]. A short plant, growing up to 45cm tall, it blooms early about 54 days after sowing[183].
'Kiev': The seeds of this cultivar are very low in alkaloids and are free of any bitterness[183]. The nutritious seeds are high in digestible protein(40%)[183].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Latin and Worldwide Common Names From Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database by M. H. Porcher et. al. 1995 - 2000 Landcare Systems Research Laboratory, Department of Crop Production,Institute of Land and Food Resources, The University of Melbourne, Australia.
Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for lupinus albus (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.

[45] Polunin. O. Flowers of Greece and the Balkans. Oxford University Press 1980 ISBN 0-19-217626-9
A good pocket flora, it also lists quite a few plant uses.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[65] Frohne. D. and Pfänder. J. A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. Wolfe 1984 ISBN 0723408394
Brilliant. Goes into technical details but in a very readable way. The best work on the subject that I've come across so far.

[76] Cooper. M. and Johnson. A. Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man. HMSO 1984 ISBN 0112425291
Concentrates mainly on the effects of poisonous plants to livestock.

[87] Woodward. L. Burge. P. Green Manures. Elm Farm Research Centre. 1982
Green manure crops for temperate areas. Quite a lot of information on a number of species.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[132] Bianchini. F., Corbetta. F. and Pistoia. M. Fruits of the Earth.
Lovely pictures, a very readable book.

[160] Natural Food Institute, Wonder Crops. 1987.
Fascinating reading, this is an annual publication. Some reports do seem somewhat exaggerated though.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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