Luxuriant Lupins

Think of lupins and you’ll probably think of flower borders. So you may be surprised to learn that a few lupins have long been used as food crops, as Sally Cunningham explains

- Sally Cunningham

Anybody interested in healthy eating and the increasing popularity of a vegan diet will be aware of the ever-increasing number of legume-based protein sources, which seem to be forever multiplying every time you visit a supermarket. Tofu, lentils, chickpeas, beans and lupins all are recommended as powerful amino acid builders, but surely you can’t eat lupin seed straight out of the garden?

Well, you can… but not just from any old lupin. The flowering types we are most familiar with are based on hybrids mostly from the Californian tree lupin, Lupinus arboreus, a substantial plant found on seashores around the UK where it’s often planted to stabilise dunes, and Lupinus polyphyllus, the Texas Bluebonnet, common over most of North America.

Both of these plants are poisonous, so it’s not surprising that if you indulge in a quick snack of seeds from the brightly coloured flowering lupins you’ll have a very uncomfortable few hours, although it’s unlikely to have lasting consequences.