LUTINE, Lupinus, a genus of plants of the natural order leguminosce, sub-order papal, onacece, mostly annuals, but some of them perennial herbaceous plants, sonk half shrubby, and generally having digitate leaves, with rather long stalks. The flowers are in racemes or spikes, the calyx two-lipped, the keel beaked, the filaments all united at the base. The species of lupine are numerous, and are chiefly natives of the countries near the Mediterranean sea, and of the temperate parts of North and South America.
The WHITE LurisE (L. albut), a species with white flowers, has been cultivated front time immemorial in the south of Europe and in some parts of Asia for the sake of the seeds, which are farinaceous, and are used as food, although when raw they have a strong, disagreeable, bitter taste, which is removed by steeping in water and boiling, They were a favorite kind of pulse amongst the ancient Greeks and Romans, and stall are so in some parts of the south of Europe, although generally disliked by those who.
have not been accustomed to them. They are used in many countries for feeding cattle. particularly draught-oxen.—The YELLow LurrNE (L. luteus), so called from its yellow flowers, and the EGYPTIAN WHITE LUPLNE (L. fermis), which has white flowers tipped with blue, are also cultivated in the south of Europe, Egypt, etc., for their seeds, which are similar in their qualities to those of the white lupine.—In many countries, lupines, and particularly the white lupine, are cultivated to yield green food for cattle, and also to be plowed down for manure. They grow well on poor and dry sandy soils, which by this process of green-manuring are fitted for other crops. Many species of lupine are cultivated in our flower-gardens, having beautiful white, yellow, pink, or blue flowers. The flowers of some species are fragrant. No lupine is a native of Britain. L. perennis adorns sandy places from Canada to Florida with its fine blue flowers.