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lupine

 
Dictionary: lu·pine1  lu·pin ('pən) pronunciation
also n.
Any of numerous plants of the genus Lupinus in the pea family, having palmately compound leaves and variously colored flowers grouped in spikes or racemes.

[Middle English, from Old French lupin, from Latin lupīnum, from neuter of lupīnus, wolflike. See lupine2.]


lu·pine2 ('pīn') pronunciation
adj.
  1. Characteristic of or resembling a wolf.
  2. Rapacious; ravenous.

[French, from Latin lupīnus, from lupus, wolf.]


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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.

For more information on lupine, visit Britannica.com.

 
lupine or lupin ('pĭn), any species of the genus Lupinus, annual or perennial herbs or shrubs of the family Leguminosae (pulse family). These leguminous plants have been cultivated in the Mediterranean region since ancient times for enriching the soil. The seeds of some species have been roasted or boiled and used as food to some extent in that locality and in the Andes, and the leafy parts are used as forage both there and in America. Some of the many species native to the American West are poisonous as forage, causing the disease lupinosis to which sheep are especially susceptible. Poisonous species and their effects have not been fully determined. As a garden flower the lupine is a favorite because of the various colors and the tall spikes of bonnet-shaped blossoms. The leaves are usually composed of leaflets radiating to form a rounded handlike leaf. Certain movements, as from the horizontal to a vertical position, are characteristic of the leaves of some of these plants, e.g., the common wild lupine (L. perennis), also called sundial and quaker bonnet. The bluebonnet, or buffalo clover (L. subcarnosus), is the state flower of Texas, where it carpets the plains in springtime with its blue blossoms. In Scotland the name bluebonnet is given to the cornflower. The false lupine belongs to the genus Thermopsis. Lupine is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Rosales, family Leguminosae.


Word Tutor: lupine
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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: A plant in the legume family with white, yellow, blue or pink flowers.

pronunciation The field was dotted with many different colors of lupine.

Wikipedia: Lupine
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Lupine may be one of several things:

  • Something that is like, or relating to, a wolf (canis lupus).
  • A variant spelling for lupin, a flowering plant.
  • Lu Pine Records, a record label in Detroit.
  • Lupine Games, a computer game company.

See also


Translations: Lupine
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Dansk (Danish)
1.
n. - lupin

2.
adj. - ulveagtig, ulve-

Nederlands (Dutch)
wolfachtig, lupine, wolfsboon

Français (French)
1.
n. - (US) lupin (plante)

2.
adj. - de loup, rapace, vorace

Deutsch (German)
1.
n. - Lupine

2.
adj. - wölfisch, Wolfs-

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - λυκήσιος

Italiano (Italian)
lupino, di lupo

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - lupino

Русский (Russian)
люпин, волчий, относящийся к волкам, зверский

Español (Spanish)
1.
n. - lupino, altramuz

2.
adj. - relativo a o característico de los lobos

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - varg-, varglik, glupsk, rovgirig, rovlysten

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 白羽扇豆

2. 狼的, 凶残的, 狼似的, 贪婪的

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
adj. - 狼的, 兇殘的, 狼似的, 貪婪的

2.
n. - 白羽扇豆

한국어 (Korean)
1.
n. - 큰 줄기를 가진 정원의 식물

2.
adj. - 이리의, 이리와 비슷한, 탐욕한, 야만의

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - オオカミの, 猛烈な
n. - ハウチワマメ, ルピナスの種子

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) ذئبي, كالذئب, ضار‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮תורמוס‬
adj. - ‮של זאב או דומה לו, זאבי, פראי‬


 
 
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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
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