or lupin Any of about 200 species of herbaceous and partly woody plants that make up the genus Lupinus in the pea family (see legume), found throughout the Mediterranean and especially on the prairies of western North America. Many are grown in the U.S. as ornamentals, and a few species are useful as cover or forage crops. Herbaceous lupines, which grow up to 4 ft (1.25 m) tall, have low, divided leaves and an upright flower spike, and many are hybridized for gardens. The name comes from the Latin for "wolf" because these plants were once thought to deplete, or "wolf," minerals from the soil; in actuality some species aid soil fertility through nitrogen fixation
He does not know a libel from a lupine In Latin: Ignorat quid distent ara lupinis, He does not know good money from a counter, or a hawk from a handsaw The Romans called counters lupines or beans A libel was a small silver coin the tenth part of a denarius = the as
This flat, yellow bean native to the Mediterranean basin, has been cultivated since ancient times A three-hour soaking in water removes a bitter taste Occasionally eaten roasted as a snack