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LAGUNA CANYON FOUNDATION
September 2009 E-Letter ___________________________________
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The plant reveals what is in the seed.
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The lupine's pealike pod reveals its heritage as a member of the legume family. Unlike their nourishing and digestible relative, the soybean, many types of lupine seeds are toxic to animals and humans (although less alkaline varieties have been staples of Mediterranean diets since the Roman Empire). Poisonous or not, lupines are known as nitrogen fixers: they produce more soil nitrogen than they consume, making it available for other nitrogen-dependent species. They were the first plants to grow on Mount St. Helens after its eruption, enriching the soil for subsequent pioneer seedlings. In fact, lupines are such hardy survivors that scientists were successful in germinating some 10,000-year-old seeds discovered frozen in the Arctic. The lupine is one more amazing contributor to the natural systems that help us KEEP IT WILD.
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Join us for Coastal Clean Up Day at Aliso & Wood Canyons Wilderness Park on Sept. 19. For details on this event as well as a printable version of our monthly calendar, visit http://www.lagunacanyon.org/events.html.
Laguna Canyon Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving, protecting and enhancing the South Coast Wilderness.
Help Us KEEP IT WILD
 
Questions? E-mail Ellen Girardeau Kempler, Communications Director, Laguna Canyon Foundation, lagunacf3@lagunacanyon.org
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