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Iceland's Purple Waves of Lupine
Read Time
5 Min
•
Iceland's Purple Waves of Lupine
Read Time
5 Min
•
Iceland's Purple Waves of Lupine
Read Time
5 Min
Iceland is known for stark landscapes: treeless plains, glaciers, black sand beaches. For a few weeks in June and July, the country shows a softer side. Lupine (lúpína in Icelandic) blooms across the volcanic soil in waves of purple, pink, and blue, turning bare stretches into something closer to a watercolor painting.
It looks as though it belongs here, as quintessentially Icelandic as wandering sheep or a Land Cruiser on oversized tires. Drive the South Coast in late June, and it is easy to assume the country always looked this way.
It did not. Lupine is a recent arrival; it was brought here deliberately, and not everyone is glad it stayed. Here is when to see it, where to find it, and why it remains one of the longest-running arguments in Icelandic nature.
Iceland is known for stark landscapes: treeless plains, glaciers, black sand beaches. For a few weeks in June and July, the country shows a softer side. Lupine (lúpína in Icelandic) blooms across the volcanic soil in waves of purple, pink, and blue, turning bare stretches into something closer to a watercolor painting.
It looks as though it belongs here, as quintessentially Icelandic as wandering sheep or a Land Cruiser on oversized tires. Drive the South Coast in late June, and it is easy to assume the country always looked this way.
It did not. Lupine is a recent arrival; it was brought here deliberately, and not everyone is glad it stayed. Here is when to see it, where to find it, and why it remains one of the longest-running arguments in Icelandic nature.
Iceland is known for stark landscapes: treeless plains, glaciers, black sand beaches. For a few weeks in June and July, the country shows a softer side. Lupine (lúpína in Icelandic) blooms across the volcanic soil in waves of purple, pink, and blue, turning bare stretches into something closer to a watercolor painting.
It looks as though it belongs here, as quintessentially Icelandic as wandering sheep or a Land Cruiser on oversized tires. Drive the South Coast in late June, and it is easy to assume the country always looked this way.
It did not. Lupine is a recent arrival; it was brought here deliberately, and not everyone is glad it stayed. Here is when to see it, where to find it, and why it remains one of the longest-running arguments in Icelandic nature.
When Do Lupines Bloom in Iceland?
When Do Lupines Bloom in Iceland?
When Do Lupines Bloom in Iceland?
Lupine season in Iceland generally runs from June through July. The most widespread flowering usually occurs between mid-June and mid-July.
The season typically follows this pattern:
Late May to early June: The first flowers may appear in warmer coastal and lowland areas.
Mid-June to mid-July: Peak flowering produces the largest displays of purple lupines.
Late July: Many fields begin fading as the flowers produce seeds.
August: Most lupines have finished flowering, although some may remain in cooler locations.
The south and southwest bloom first. The north, the inland areas, and the Westfjords follow by one to two weeks.
If the purple fields are the reason you are coming, aim for late June or early July. That window also overlaps with the midnight sun, which means you can photograph lupines at eleven at night in light most photographers would pay for.
Lupine season in Iceland generally runs from June through July. The most widespread flowering usually occurs between mid-June and mid-July.
The season typically follows this pattern:
Late May to early June: The first flowers may appear in warmer coastal and lowland areas.
Mid-June to mid-July: Peak flowering produces the largest displays of purple lupines.
Late July: Many fields begin fading as the flowers produce seeds.
August: Most lupines have finished flowering, although some may remain in cooler locations.
The south and southwest bloom first. The north, the inland areas, and the Westfjords follow by one to two weeks.
If the purple fields are the reason you are coming, aim for late June or early July. That window also overlaps with the midnight sun, which means you can photograph lupines at eleven at night in light most photographers would pay for.
Lupine season in Iceland generally runs from June through July. The most widespread flowering usually occurs between mid-June and mid-July.
The season typically follows this pattern:
Late May to early June: The first flowers may appear in warmer coastal and lowland areas.
Mid-June to mid-July: Peak flowering produces the largest displays of purple lupines.
Late July: Many fields begin fading as the flowers produce seeds.
August: Most lupines have finished flowering, although some may remain in cooler locations.
The south and southwest bloom first. The north, the inland areas, and the Westfjords follow by one to two weeks.
If the purple fields are the reason you are coming, aim for late June or early July. That window also overlaps with the midnight sun, which means you can photograph lupines at eleven at night in light most photographers would pay for.
Steam at Reykjanes, a short walk from the salt house. The hot springs outlasted the 18th-century salt works by more than two centuries, and now they are back at work. Photo: Saltverk
Steam at Reykjanes, a short walk from the salt house. The hot springs outlasted the 18th-century salt works by more than two centuries, and now they are back at work. Photo: Saltverk
Steam at Reykjanes, a short walk from the salt house. The hot springs outlasted the 18th-century salt works by more than two centuries, and now they are back at work. Photo: Saltverk
Why Are There So Many Purple Lupines in Iceland?
Why Are There So Many Purple Lupines in Iceland?
Why Are There So Many Purple Lupines in Iceland?
The short answer is that Iceland was experiencing tremendous soil erosion, and lupine was brought in to hold it together. The longer answer explains why the country was bare enough to need the help.
Why Were Lupines Introduced?
When settlers arrived in the ninth century, roughly two-thirds of Iceland was vegetated, and birch woodland covered perhaps a quarter to a third of the island. These were not tall forests. Icelandic birch rarely grows above about thirteen meters. Still, the settlers cleared what was there for firewood, charcoal, and construction, and the sheep, goats, cattle, and pigs they brought over in open boats kept it from growing back.
Add a harsh climate, steep terrain, and volcanic soil that was loose to begin with, and the topsoil started to leave. By the middle of the twentieth century, only about a quarter of the original vegetation cover remained, and Iceland had a serious erosion problem to manage.
Lupinus nootkatensis first reached Iceland around 1885 as a garden ornamental. Still, the significant arrival that mattered came in 1945, when the Icelandic Forest Service (Skógræktin) brought seeds back from a collecting trip to Alaska.
The lupines offered several advantages:
Helped stabilize loose ground due to their extensive root systems
Absorb nitrogen from the atmosphere through bacteria associated with their roots
Increased nitrogen availability in the soil, which supports vegetation growth
For about three decades, the plant stayed mostly in green spaces around Reykjavík. Organized seed collection began in the 1980s, and nationwide sowing campaigns followed in the 1990s.
How Did Lupines Spread Across Iceland?
Faster than anyone planned. A single lupine plant can set more than two thousand seeds in a season, and those seeds travel by water, wind, erosion, and birds. Members of the public scattered seeds, and officials in the late twentieth century, particularly through organized land reclamation projects, were very efficient at spreading the flowers.
Once established, lupines spread beyond their original planting sites. They grow where other plants struggle, no animal here eats it in quantity, and retreating glaciers keep opening new ground for it. Today it covers roughly 0.4 percent of Iceland's land surface, which sounds modest until you are driving through vast fields of them.
However, their success introduced a different environmental challenge.
Are Lupines Invasive in Iceland?
Officially, yes. Iceland designates only three invasive species, and Lupinus nootkatensis is one of them, alongside cow parsley and heath star moss.
Although lupines helped stabilize degraded land, they also spread into areas containing established native vegetation. Now slow-growing native vegetation, like moss, struggles to compete.
So the trade-off is genuine. Lupin has done real work against erosion on ground that had already lost its vegetation. On ground that still has vegetation, it has meant the loss of plant diversity.
Policy has shifted accordingly. Cultivating non-native species is prohibited above 400 meters and inside protected areas, and official use of lupine in land reclamation ended in 2018, when the Soil Conservation Service described the plant as having finished the job it was brought here to do.
Getting rid of it is another matter. The same deep roots that make lupine effective make it very hard to remove, and local eradication takes three to five years of cutting the plants each June before they seed. Several municipalities in East Iceland organize cutting campaigns and lend out trimmers. However, like many other invasive species, around the globe, it is likely here to stay.
The short answer is that Iceland was experiencing tremendous soil erosion, and lupine was brought in to hold it together. The longer answer explains why the country was bare enough to need the help.
Why Were Lupines Introduced?
When settlers arrived in the ninth century, roughly two-thirds of Iceland was vegetated, and birch woodland covered perhaps a quarter to a third of the island. These were not tall forests. Icelandic birch rarely grows above about thirteen meters. Still, the settlers cleared what was there for firewood, charcoal, and construction, and the sheep, goats, cattle, and pigs they brought over in open boats kept it from growing back.
Add a harsh climate, steep terrain, and volcanic soil that was loose to begin with, and the topsoil started to leave. By the middle of the twentieth century, only about a quarter of the original vegetation cover remained, and Iceland had a serious erosion problem to manage.
Lupinus nootkatensis first reached Iceland around 1885 as a garden ornamental. Still, the significant arrival that mattered came in 1945, when the Icelandic Forest Service (Skógræktin) brought seeds back from a collecting trip to Alaska.
The lupines offered several advantages:
Helped stabilize loose ground due to their extensive root systems
Absorb nitrogen from the atmosphere through bacteria associated with their roots
Increased nitrogen availability in the soil, which supports vegetation growth
For about three decades, the plant stayed mostly in green spaces around Reykjavík. Organized seed collection began in the 1980s, and nationwide sowing campaigns followed in the 1990s.
How Did Lupines Spread Across Iceland?
Faster than anyone planned. A single lupine plant can set more than two thousand seeds in a season, and those seeds travel by water, wind, erosion, and birds. Members of the public scattered seeds, and officials in the late twentieth century, particularly through organized land reclamation projects, were very efficient at spreading the flowers.
Once established, lupines spread beyond their original planting sites. They grow where other plants struggle, no animal here eats it in quantity, and retreating glaciers keep opening new ground for it. Today it covers roughly 0.4 percent of Iceland's land surface, which sounds modest until you are driving through vast fields of them.
However, their success introduced a different environmental challenge.
Are Lupines Invasive in Iceland?
Officially, yes. Iceland designates only three invasive species, and Lupinus nootkatensis is one of them, alongside cow parsley and heath star moss.
Although lupines helped stabilize degraded land, they also spread into areas containing established native vegetation. Now slow-growing native vegetation, like moss, struggles to compete.
So the trade-off is genuine. Lupin has done real work against erosion on ground that had already lost its vegetation. On ground that still has vegetation, it has meant the loss of plant diversity.
Policy has shifted accordingly. Cultivating non-native species is prohibited above 400 meters and inside protected areas, and official use of lupine in land reclamation ended in 2018, when the Soil Conservation Service described the plant as having finished the job it was brought here to do.
Getting rid of it is another matter. The same deep roots that make lupine effective make it very hard to remove, and local eradication takes three to five years of cutting the plants each June before they seed. Several municipalities in East Iceland organize cutting campaigns and lend out trimmers. However, like many other invasive species, around the globe, it is likely here to stay.
The short answer is that Iceland was experiencing tremendous soil erosion, and lupine was brought in to hold it together. The longer answer explains why the country was bare enough to need the help.
Why Were Lupines Introduced?
When settlers arrived in the ninth century, roughly two-thirds of Iceland was vegetated, and birch woodland covered perhaps a quarter to a third of the island. These were not tall forests. Icelandic birch rarely grows above about thirteen meters. Still, the settlers cleared what was there for firewood, charcoal, and construction, and the sheep, goats, cattle, and pigs they brought over in open boats kept it from growing back.
Add a harsh climate, steep terrain, and volcanic soil that was loose to begin with, and the topsoil started to leave. By the middle of the twentieth century, only about a quarter of the original vegetation cover remained, and Iceland had a serious erosion problem to manage.
Lupinus nootkatensis first reached Iceland around 1885 as a garden ornamental. Still, the significant arrival that mattered came in 1945, when the Icelandic Forest Service (Skógræktin) brought seeds back from a collecting trip to Alaska.
The lupines offered several advantages:
Helped stabilize loose ground due to their extensive root systems
Absorb nitrogen from the atmosphere through bacteria associated with their roots
Increased nitrogen availability in the soil, which supports vegetation growth
For about three decades, the plant stayed mostly in green spaces around Reykjavík. Organized seed collection began in the 1980s, and nationwide sowing campaigns followed in the 1990s.
How Did Lupines Spread Across Iceland?
Faster than anyone planned. A single lupine plant can set more than two thousand seeds in a season, and those seeds travel by water, wind, erosion, and birds. Members of the public scattered seeds, and officials in the late twentieth century, particularly through organized land reclamation projects, were very efficient at spreading the flowers.
Once established, lupines spread beyond their original planting sites. They grow where other plants struggle, no animal here eats it in quantity, and retreating glaciers keep opening new ground for it. Today it covers roughly 0.4 percent of Iceland's land surface, which sounds modest until you are driving through vast fields of them.
However, their success introduced a different environmental challenge.
Are Lupines Invasive in Iceland?
Officially, yes. Iceland designates only three invasive species, and Lupinus nootkatensis is one of them, alongside cow parsley and heath star moss.
Although lupines helped stabilize degraded land, they also spread into areas containing established native vegetation. Now slow-growing native vegetation, like moss, struggles to compete.
So the trade-off is genuine. Lupin has done real work against erosion on ground that had already lost its vegetation. On ground that still has vegetation, it has meant the loss of plant diversity.
Policy has shifted accordingly. Cultivating non-native species is prohibited above 400 meters and inside protected areas, and official use of lupine in land reclamation ended in 2018, when the Soil Conservation Service described the plant as having finished the job it was brought here to do.
Getting rid of it is another matter. The same deep roots that make lupine effective make it very hard to remove, and local eradication takes three to five years of cutting the plants each June before they seed. Several municipalities in East Iceland organize cutting campaigns and lend out trimmers. However, like many other invasive species, around the globe, it is likely here to stay.
Here, seawater slowly becomes seasoning. The brine in these open pans is heated by geothermal water circulating inside the pans themselves, between layers of steel and concrete. Photo: Gunnar Freyr Gunnarsson | Icelandic Explorer
Here, seawater slowly becomes seasoning. The brine in these open pans is heated by geothermal water circulating inside the pans themselves, between layers of steel and concrete. Photo: Gunnar Freyr Gunnarsson | Icelandic Explorer
Here, seawater slowly becomes seasoning. The brine in these open pans is heated by geothermal water circulating inside the pans themselves, between layers of steel and concrete. Photo: Gunnar Freyr Gunnarsson | Icelandic Explorer
Best Places to See Lupines in Iceland
Best Places to See Lupines in Iceland
Best Places to See Lupines in Iceland
During peak bloom, you do not need to go looking. Purple fields are visible from most main roads in the lowlands, and you will not be the only one pulling over. Couples getting married during lupine season seem to treat a field shot as mandatory, and kids and dogs photograph well in it too.
Some regions are better than others.
The South Coast (Selfoss to Vatnajökull National Park)
Along the Ring Road, you will pass waterfalls, glacier-capped volcanoes, and one field of lupine after another. Just when you think you have found the shot, the next bend reveals a better one.
The area around Vík is particularly well known for lupine photography.
During peak flowering, lupines can appear near the village, along nearby slopes, and around the surrounding countryside.
Other locations where lupines commonly grow include:
Skógafoss: Lupine fields can be found in the surrounding area during summer.
Seljalandsfoss: Purple flowers may grow across nearby fields and roadside areas.
Kirkjubæjarklaustur: The surrounding countryside features open landscapes where lupines have become established.
Flowering conditions vary each year, so individual fields may look different between visits.
The Westfjords
If you miss peak bloom in the south, head north and west. The Westfjords typically lag the rest of the country by one or two weeks, so late bloomers get a second chance here. The region is stunning year-round, and lupine adds one more reason to visit.
The Snæfellsnes Peninsula
The Snæfellsnes Peninsula in West Iceland offers another setting for photographing lupines. The region features volcanic mountains, fishing villages, lava fields, and the glacier-covered Snæfellsjökull volcano.
In June and July, lupines can grow along roadsides and across open areas of the peninsula. Their purple blossoms provide a colorful contrast against darker volcanic terrain.
The area around Hellissandur is among the locations where lupines have been photographed.
During peak bloom, you do not need to go looking. Purple fields are visible from most main roads in the lowlands, and you will not be the only one pulling over. Couples getting married during lupine season seem to treat a field shot as mandatory, and kids and dogs photograph well in it too.
Some regions are better than others.
The South Coast (Selfoss to Vatnajökull National Park)
Along the Ring Road, you will pass waterfalls, glacier-capped volcanoes, and one field of lupine after another. Just when you think you have found the shot, the next bend reveals a better one.
The area around Vík is particularly well known for lupine photography.
During peak flowering, lupines can appear near the village, along nearby slopes, and around the surrounding countryside.
Other locations where lupines commonly grow include:
Skógafoss: Lupine fields can be found in the surrounding area during summer.
Seljalandsfoss: Purple flowers may grow across nearby fields and roadside areas.
Kirkjubæjarklaustur: The surrounding countryside features open landscapes where lupines have become established.
Flowering conditions vary each year, so individual fields may look different between visits.
The Westfjords
If you miss peak bloom in the south, head north and west. The Westfjords typically lag the rest of the country by one or two weeks, so late bloomers get a second chance here. The region is stunning year-round, and lupine adds one more reason to visit.
The Snæfellsnes Peninsula
The Snæfellsnes Peninsula in West Iceland offers another setting for photographing lupines. The region features volcanic mountains, fishing villages, lava fields, and the glacier-covered Snæfellsjökull volcano.
In June and July, lupines can grow along roadsides and across open areas of the peninsula. Their purple blossoms provide a colorful contrast against darker volcanic terrain.
The area around Hellissandur is among the locations where lupines have been photographed.
During peak bloom, you do not need to go looking. Purple fields are visible from most main roads in the lowlands, and you will not be the only one pulling over. Couples getting married during lupine season seem to treat a field shot as mandatory, and kids and dogs photograph well in it too.
Some regions are better than others.
The South Coast (Selfoss to Vatnajökull National Park)
Along the Ring Road, you will pass waterfalls, glacier-capped volcanoes, and one field of lupine after another. Just when you think you have found the shot, the next bend reveals a better one.
The area around Vík is particularly well known for lupine photography.
During peak flowering, lupines can appear near the village, along nearby slopes, and around the surrounding countryside.
Other locations where lupines commonly grow include:
Skógafoss: Lupine fields can be found in the surrounding area during summer.
Seljalandsfoss: Purple flowers may grow across nearby fields and roadside areas.
Kirkjubæjarklaustur: The surrounding countryside features open landscapes where lupines have become established.
Flowering conditions vary each year, so individual fields may look different between visits.
The Westfjords
If you miss peak bloom in the south, head north and west. The Westfjords typically lag the rest of the country by one or two weeks, so late bloomers get a second chance here. The region is stunning year-round, and lupine adds one more reason to visit.
The Snæfellsnes Peninsula
The Snæfellsnes Peninsula in West Iceland offers another setting for photographing lupines. The region features volcanic mountains, fishing villages, lava fields, and the glacier-covered Snæfellsjökull volcano.
In June and July, lupines can grow along roadsides and across open areas of the peninsula. Their purple blossoms provide a colorful contrast against darker volcanic terrain.
The area around Hellissandur is among the locations where lupines have been photographed.
Lupines and Iceland's Changing Landscape
Lupines and Iceland's Changing Landscape
Lupines and Iceland's Changing Landscape
Lupine has become a familiar part of Icelandic summers in less than a century, which is quick for a landscape.
Its story is also a useful study in what happens when you try to repair a damaged environment. The plant was brought here to solve a real problem, and it solved it. It then kept going into places nobody intended, and now the country is working out how to live with the result.
None of that argument is visible from the road in late June and early July. The sun barely sets then, and the fields glow purple at midnight. Most people have seen lupine somewhere. Almost nobody has seen it like this.
Lupine has become a familiar part of Icelandic summers in less than a century, which is quick for a landscape.
Its story is also a useful study in what happens when you try to repair a damaged environment. The plant was brought here to solve a real problem, and it solved it. It then kept going into places nobody intended, and now the country is working out how to live with the result.
None of that argument is visible from the road in late June and early July. The sun barely sets then, and the fields glow purple at midnight. Most people have seen lupine somewhere. Almost nobody has seen it like this.
Lupine has become a familiar part of Icelandic summers in less than a century, which is quick for a landscape.
Its story is also a useful study in what happens when you try to repair a damaged environment. The plant was brought here to solve a real problem, and it solved it. It then kept going into places nobody intended, and now the country is working out how to live with the result.
None of that argument is visible from the road in late June and early July. The sun barely sets then, and the fields glow purple at midnight. Most people have seen lupine somewhere. Almost nobody has seen it like this.
At Reykjanes, on the shore of Ísafjarðardjúp, an 18th-century craft runs on geothermal heat. The salt house looks unremarkable from the road. Inside, seawater is being turned into flakes that reach kitchens around the world. Photos: Gunnar Freyr Gunnarsson | Icelandic Explorer
At Reykjanes, on the shore of Ísafjarðardjúp, an 18th-century craft runs on geothermal heat. The salt house looks unremarkable from the road. Inside, seawater is being turned into flakes that reach kitchens around the world. Photos: Gunnar Freyr Gunnarsson | Icelandic Explorer
At Reykjanes, on the shore of Ísafjarðardjúp, an 18th-century craft runs on geothermal heat. The salt house looks unremarkable from the road. Inside, seawater is being turned into flakes that reach kitchens around the world. Photos: Gunnar Freyr Gunnarsson | Icelandic Explorer