Many people might mistakenly believe the purple and pink lupins that appear across Atlantic Canada every summer have always been here, in reality, they are a non-native plant that can harm native species.
Andrew Holland with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) says that although many people appreciate their beauty and plant them in their home gardens doing so can devastate your entire property.
“Lupins seem to love Atlantic Canada, specifically our wet acidic soil, once planted they seed very well and they are toxic to most insects and animals so they just keep on spreading.”
Holland says he’s spoken with many people who believe lupins to be native to Nova Scotia, a misconception he believes makes people more likely to help spread them.
“It’s not something that’s really talked about since they are so pretty but lupins can get into an area and just spread and takeover,” Holland said.
One of the biggest harms presented by lupins is their impact on biodiversity. “Once they are in an area they can spread and make it harder for other plants to grow and get sunlight,” Holland said. “With lupins being toxic to most insects that mean the plants they rely on to survive are becoming harder to find and those insects that we need to have a healthy ecosystem are finding it harder to survive.”
Lupins are so widespread across Atlantic Canada that Holland thinks it may already be too late. “Unfortunately they are so common now it would be unfeasible to try and eradicate them so if I was the government I would prioritize some of the newer invasive species that we can still effectively deal with,” Holland said.
Despite a full-scale eradication being futile Holland says the NCC would encourage people not to help further spread lupins. They advise people to leave lupins where they see them and to not dig them up for replanting. They also recommend avoiding walking in large lupin fields as seeds can attach themselves to people and spread.
