Seasonal Wild Flowers

Tree Lupin

Lupinus arboreus

Fabaceae

May to August

It is thinly scattered throughout the country, but is mainly

coastal and is most common in East Anglia.

See the BSBI distribution map for Tree Lupin

It is a neophyte which has been planted in UK gardens

and recognised as naturalised since the 1940s.

It grows on sand dunes, shingle and waste ground, and by

roads and railways.

It is planted on dunes and some brownfield sites to

stabilise the ground and to add nitrogen.

Tree Lupin is a nitrogen-fixing, evergreen, perennial shrub,

growing up to 3m.

The yellow flowers are in a spike and are typically

leguminous in structure.

Leaves are palmate with lanceolate leaflets.

It has hairy fruit pods, up to 8cm long.

Although useful as a stabilising plant on dunes, it can

spread rapidly with its prolific seed production and

crowd out other plants.

Previous page: Tree Bedstraw
Next page: Tree-mallow

Tree Lupin on sand and shingle

Flower spike

Flower rosette

Close-up of flowers and black flies

Hairy pods

Leaves