Lupinus polyphyllus (Large-leaved Lupine, Big-leaved Lupine, Russell Lupine, or primarily in cultivation, Garden Lupine) is a species of Lupine native to western North America from southern Alaska and British Columbia east to Alberta and western Wyoming, and south to Utah and California. It commonly grows along streams and creeks preferring moist habitats.
It is a perennial herbaceous plant with stout stems growing to 1.5m tall. The leaves are palmately compound with 5-17 leaflets that are 3-15cm long. The flowers are produced on a tall spike, each flower 1-1.5cm long, and most commonly blue to purple in wild plants. The polyphyllus variety in particular make up a great number of the hybrids which are generally grown as Garden Lupines, and can vary dramatically in color. The majority of Lupines do not thrive in rich, heavy soils, and often only live or a matter of years if grown in such places, crown contact with manure or rich organic matter encourages rotting.
The herbaceous lupine, Lupinus polyphyllus, arrived in Britain from North America in the 1820s, brought over by David Douglas. Almost a century later, George Russell, a horticulturist from York, UK, started to breed the (later famous) Russell hybrids (Lupinus X russellii hort). Lupinus polphyllus originally were of basic colors and had large gaps in the flowering spike. Without the use of modern-day plant breeding techniques, Russell took to ruthlessly pulling out any plants which he deemed to be unacceptable in growth or display. He spent two decades single-handedly trying to breed the perfect lupine, crossing L. polyphyllus with L. arboreus, L. sulphureus and one or more annual species (maybe L. nootkatensis).
Over the decades, the plants he selected developed flower spikes that were denser, larger, and more colorful than the original Lupinus polyphyllus. His work may have gone unrecognized if he had not been encouraged by nurseryman James Baker to show the plants to the public. It is understood the pair worked together for several years to perfect the Russell Hybrid, before they were displayed at the Royal Horticultural Society's June show in 1937, where their brightly colored, tightly packed spires won awards. Russell was later awarded an MBE, and the Royal Horticultural Society awarded him the Veitch Memorial Medal for a lifetime's achievement in horticulture. Baker later secured Russell's entire stock; in their heyday, Bakers Nurseries Ltd. of Codsall, Wolverhamton attracted 80,000 visitors in June to see 40 acres of lupines in flower.
There is strong concern that Russell lupine DNA significantly contaminates large percentages of commercially-available Sundial Lupine, Lupinus perennis, seed making it potentially unsuitable for the larvae of the endangered Karner Blue Butterfly. The Karner cannot feed upon Russell lupines, nor can it feed upon the base Lupinus polyphyllus species. Those who wish to protect the Karner should prevent the introduction of Lupinus polyphyllus and Russell lupines into the remaining areas where the butterfly continues to exist, to prevent the toxic lupine hybridization.
It is commonly used in gardens for its attractiveness to bees, ability to improve poor sandy soils with their nitrogen fixing ability and flowers; numerous cultivars have been selected for differing flower color, including red, pink, white, blue, and multi-colored with different colors on different petals. Often hybrids between L. polyphyllus and L. arboreus are used, and sold under hybrid names such as Rainbow Lupins, Lupin Tutti Fruitti, Band of Nobles (mixed), Chandelier (yellow), My Castle (red), Noble Maiden (white) The Chatelaine (pink), and The Governor (blue). They are very hardy plants, surviving extreme temperatures withstanding frost to at least −25 °C (−13 °F) and the wild varieties can easily become invasive and hard to dispose of unless kept in check on a regular basis. They need a reasonable level of sun to survive, and do best in light soils, suffering in heavy and clay types, once fully established they are extremely resilient and may be divided. Seeds taken from the mother plant will never be a true replica of the original even if they produce similar colorings.
Low alkaloidal or sweet cultivars of this lupine, suitable for fodder crops, have been bred. To avoid restoration of alkaloid synthesis in cross-pollinated species of lupine, a new approach has been developed on the basis of specific crossing. Only compatible forms are involved in hybridization, with their low alkaloid content controlled by the same genetic system. These approaches have allowed transforming this bitter weed into a valuable fodder crop. In the conditions of Northwest Russia positive results from the use of the sweet commercial cultivar "Pervenec" (first sweet variety), which is included in the State Catalogue of selection achievements of Russia. Breeding of sweet lupine is carried out also in Finland. The newer garden hybrids of today are highly poisonous because they are full of toxic alkaloids and should never be eaten. The species is also toxic to livestock.
In New Zealand, where it is known as the Russell lupin, Lupinus polyphyllus, is classed as an invasive species and covers large areas next to roadsides, pastures and riverbeds, especially in the Canterbury region. It is documented as being first naturalized in 1958 and it has been suggested that tour bus drivers deliberately spread seeds of the plant to promote colorful roadside vegetation in areas which some tourists may consider to be rather drab. The plant threatens indigenous species especially when it invades the braided river beds in the South Island.
It is also classed as an invasive species in Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Argentina, the Czech Republic, Finland, Lithuania, and the Ukraine.
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