Spring flowers in Japan: lupine

Lupine are a stunning, otherworldly flowering plant that grow in spring in Japan. They come in many colors and make a gorgeous addition to any garden or flower display. You can commonly see different shades of purple, pink, orange and white. In the Kanto plain, aka the Greater Tokyo area, they typically grow right around the period of Golden Week. That is, late April to around the end of the first or second week of May. They are currently in full bloom. 

In Japan, they are most commonly called Lupinasu ルピナス, but they are also sometimes called climbing (nobori) or standing (tachi) wisteria (fuji), as they look like upside-down wisteria! In English, Lupine, which is also spelled Lupin, comes from the Latin word for wolf. They were such called because it was once believed that they sucked all the nutrients from the soil. It turns out though, that as members of the legume family, they are actually good for the soil.  There are many different varieties of lupine. The type used in gardens and flower in displays here in Japan grow to about 60 centimeters. 

In the hanakotoba – the Japanese language of flowers – the meaning of the Lupine is the same as in English. Lupine represents “voraciousness”, “imagination” and “always happy”. They are the birthday flower of March 10th, March 17th, May 31st and November 2nd.

Have you seen any lupine this year?