Lupin

Lupin an annual or biennial leguminous plant of the genus Lupinus in the pea family. Many lupins are grown for their flowers, but the seeds of certain species, although bitter and toxic when fresh, can be soaked in salted water or boiled to make them edible. The Mediterranean lupins (L. albus, L. angustifolius) are less toxic than the truly bitter varieties and there have been developed, since the 1920s, low-alkaloid, ‘sweet’ lupin plants that can be used with no preliminaries.