The history of the lupine bean can be traced back to the very beginnings of the Mediterranean diet. The lupin is a legume, member of the Lupinus genus. The flowering plant can reach heights of up to 1.8 metres and bears fruit in the form of a pod which contains the lupin bean.
The plant itself, much like its close relatives, the pea or the broad bean, is an herbaceous plant that can grow up to 1.7m tall. When in bloom, it has stalks of lovely flowers from which the bean pods emerge. The full growth cycle takes about the same amount of time as human gestation, around 9 months, And, much like other crops such as wheat, it can’t be harvested until the plant has dried.