The Medicinal Herb Info site was created to help educate visitors about the often forgotten wisdom of the old ways of treating illnesses. Many of today's drugs and medicines were originally derived from natural ingredients, combinations of plants and other items found in nature.

We are not suggesting that you ignore the help of trained medical professionals, simply that you have additional options available for treating illnesses. Often the most effective treatment involves a responsible blend of both modern and traditional treatments.

We wish you peace and health!

Wild Lupine

Scientific Names

Wild Lupine

  • Lupinus perennis L.
  • Pea family

Common Names

  • Lupine

    • Back to Top

    Parts Usually Used

    Leaves
    Back to Top

    Description of Plant(s) and Culture

    A perennial with palmately compound leaves, racemes of white, rose yellow, or blue flowers, and pods containing beanlike seeds; used for forage; green manure, etc., 1-2 foot high. Leaves long-stalked; divided into 7-11 oblong-lance-shaped segments. Flowers more often blue; pea like; in a showy raceme; April to July.
    Back to Top

    Where Found

    Found in dry soils, open woods. New York to Florida; West Virginia; Ohio, Indiana, Illinois.
    Back to Top

    Legends, Myths and Stories

    The name of the Wild Lupine means wild wolf. Origin of the name is unknown.

    Paiute name: “Kao sigi”; Shoshone name: “Cupi chuk”; Warm Springs Indians name: “Wapeayta”. The tea of the seeds helps failure to urinate.
    Back to Top

    Uses

    Native Americans drank cold leaf tea to treat nausea, failure to urinate, and internal hemorrhage. A fodder used to fatten horses and make them “spirited and full of fire”.
    Back to Top

    Warning

    Seeds are Poisonous. Some lupines are toxic, others are not. Even botanists may have difficulty distinguishing between toxic and nontoxic species. Best to leave alone if inexperienced with this one.

    Use only when successfully identified and under medical supervision
    Back to Top

    Bibliography

    Buy It! Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants, by Steven Foster and James A. Duke., Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000

    Buy It! Indian Uses of Native Plants, by Edith Van Allen Murphey, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, copyright 1958, print 1990

    Buy It! Webster’s New World Dictionary, Third College Edition, Victoria Neufeldt, Editor in Chief, New World Dictionaries: A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023

    Back to Top

    Share