Marine Mammals
Marine Invertebrate
Birds
Reptiles
Terrestrial Invertebrate
Flowers
Fish
Marine Flora
Terrestrial Mammals
Amphibians
Fungi- Lichen
Trees- ShrubsNarrow-Leaved Lupin (Lupinus angustifolius)
The Flash Player and a browser with Javascript support are needed..
Lupinus angustifolius belongs to the Family Fabaceae and the subfamily Faboideae (1). The leaves are compound and they have five to seven leaflets. The flowers are small, form in clusters and they are dark blue in colour. The fruit is found in a pod containing three to five seeds. Its flowers and seeds can be used for pharmaceutical purposes.
All members of the genus Lupinus contain a bitter tasting substance called lupinine which is a toxic alkaloid. In large quantities, lupinine can cause death when eaten raw. Dry lupins lose their toxicity after being soaked in salty water for a few hours, and can be consumed as legumes (2). Grazing animals suffer from lupinosis, which causes diarrhoea and fatigue, if they consume too many seeds (1).
It is an annual plant that blooms from March to April (3).
It can be on cultivated land, field margins and on sandy soils (3). It is also can be found in meadows and in vineyards (2).
It is found in the Mediterranean area (4).
Not mentioned in IUCN Red List (5).
Description translated by Stella Ioannou (2009)
1) Γ.Π. Σαρλής (1999), Συστηματική Βοτανική-Εφαρμογές Κορμοφύτων, εκδ. Σταμούλη
2) Κυριακή Ζανέττου-Παντελή (2000), Η θεραπευτική δυνατότητα των φαρμακευτικών φυτών της Κύπρου, εκδ. Κυριακή Ζανέττου-Παντελή, Λάρνακα
3) Γ. Σφήκας (1999), Αγριολούλουδα της Κρήτης, εκδ. Efstathiadis Group, Ελλάδα
4) Blamey. M., and Grey-Wilson. C. (1993) Mediterranean Wild Flowers, Harper Collins Publishers, London
5) IUCN (2009) IUCN Red List of Threatened Species [online] Available:
http://www.iucnredlist.org [date accessed: 13/08/2009]
