Lupinus is derived from lupus, a wolf, and was applied to this plant because the roots, which are deeply and firmly buried, were believed to rapidly exhaust the fertility of the soil. There might have been a time and place wherein its means of subsistence was begrudged. But it is certainly welcomed nowadays, when we are privileged to enjoy the azure reflections of its attractive, pea-like flowers along railroad banks and on dry, sandy hillsides and waste fields, where it gathers to bloom during May and June. The round, hairy, leafy, perennial stalk is erect and branching, and grows one or two feet in height. The slender-stemmed, wheel-shaped leaf is composed of from seven to eleven long, narrow leaflets, which are widest toward their acutely pointed apex. They radiate from the stem and are thin textured, light green and toothless. At night they fold together like an umbrella. The numerous, sweetly scented, butterfly-shaped flowers form a long, loosely clustered, showy terminal spike of vivid blue. They blossom in great numbers at about the same time, and produce a very striking effect. Wild Lupine is found from Maine and Ontario to Minnesota, Florida and Louisiana.