Lupinus elegans Kunth is a common species in the West-Central region of México. L. elegans has been used for the restoration of degraded conifer forests because it creates microenvironments suitable for the establishment of coniferous species by increasing nitrogen concentrations in the soil. In this study we determined the genetic variation of L. elegans populations using RAPD markers. One hundred and fifty individuals were collected from five populations in Michoacán: Llano de Pario, Charapan, Pico de Tancítaro, San Nicolás and Villa Madero. Results indicate genetic variation (h) about 0.20 with 60 % polymorphism. The molecular analysis showed higher genetic variation within (59 %) than between (41 %) populations. A Neighbor Joining tree was generated based on Nei's genetic distances, and the resulting tree clustered the populations of Llano de Pario and San Nicolás, followed by populations of Tancí taro, and lastly clustered Villa Madero and Charapan. No correlation was found between genetic and geographic distances. Common garden experiments indicate that plants from the local population outperform introduced plants. These results suggest that although L. elegans is a species with a considerable geographic range, seed collection for restoration purposes should be done from the closest (geographical) population possible.