Butterfly-pea

Centrosema virginianum

Family: Fabaceae Genus: Centrosema Species: virginianum

Synonyms: Clitoria amoena, Bradburya decumbens, Centrosema virginianum var. ellipticum, Centrosema virginianum var. genuinum, Ternatea virginiana, Centrosema scabriusculum, Steganotropis conjugata, Clitoria alabamensis, Centrosema conjugatum, Bradburya conjugata, Centrosema decumbens, Nauchea virginiana, Bradburya biflora, Bradburya erecta, Dolichos aristatus, Clitoria virginiana, Clitoria gladiata, Clitoria oblonga, Cruminium virginianum, Clitoria gemina, Dolichos scabriuscidus, Centrosema virginianum subsp. angustifolium, Clitoria virginiana var. ovata, Clitoria calcarigera, Centrosema virginianum var. angustifolium, Bradburya virginiana var. flavida, Bradburya virginiana, Centrosema biflorum, Glycine pugiunculus, Clitoria virginiana var. angustifolia, Bradburya virginiana var. angustifolia, Clitoria virginiana var. elliptica, Vexillaria virginiana

Butterfly-pea (en)

Gallery

Botanical Description

Centrosema virginianum, the spurred butterfly pea or climbing butterfly pea, is a slender perennial twining vine in the family Fabaceae, native to the southeastern United States south through the West Indies and Mexico to tropical South America, where it grows in open sandy woodland, pine-oak savanna, roadsides and clearings. From a deep woody root it produces wiry, sparsely hairy stems 1-2 m long that twine over surrounding vegetation, bearing trifoliate leaves with narrowly elliptic to lanceolate, leathery leaflets 2-6 cm long. The flowers are showy and pea-like but held upside-down, with a broad, reflexed, pale lavender to violet standard 2-4 cm across marked with darker veins and a paler central stripe, and a short basal spur on the calyx. Linear, flattened, long-beaked pods 8-15 cm long split explosively to expel small dark seeds.

Native Region: Alabama, Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Arkansas, Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Cayman Is., Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Delaware, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Florida, Georgia, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Kentucky, Leeward Is., Louisiana, Maryland, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Mississippi, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Panamá, Paraguay, Pennsylvania, Peru, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Southwest Caribbean, Suriname, Tennessee, Texas, Trinidad-Tobago, Turks-Caicos Is., Uruguay, Venezuela, Venezuelan Antilles, Virginia, Windward Is.

Cultural & Historical Context

Traditional American Uses

None Documented

Chemistry & External Identifiers

Trefle ID

40588

Important Disclaimer

This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before using any herbal remedy, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or taking medications.

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