Butterfly Bean, Darwin pea, Streaky Bean
Clitoria ternatea
Family: Fabaceae
What it is like
A perennial herb plant. It grows to 3-4.5 m tall and spreads to 4 m wide. The stem is slender and twines. The leaves are green and divided. They are 6-12 cm long. The 5-9 leaflets are oval. The flowers are bright purple. They are pea like and 3-5 cm across. They have yellow tinted white centres. The flowers occur either singly or in pairs. The fruit are flat pods. They are 7 cm long. After the seeds fall the pods twist. The seeds are dark brown to black.
It becomes a weed in many places forming tangled hedges. There are about 40 Clitoria species. In the Botanical Gardens in Slovenia - presumably in a hot house.
Where it is found
It is a tropical plant. It will grow on most soils. It needs a sheltered sunny position. It is drought and frost tender. Mostly they grow on the edge of forests. It grows where the minimum temperature is 16°C. In Nepal it grows to about 250 m altitude in hedges and thickets. It can grow in arid places. In XTBG Yunnan. It suits hardiness zones 10-12.
Countries/locations it is found in
Africa, Angola, Antigua-Barbuda, Aruba, Asia, Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabinda, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Caribbean, Cayman Islands, Central Africa, Central America, Chad, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Africa, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Europe, Fiji, French Guiana, Gabon, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Guadeloupe, Guianas, Guam, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, Himalayas, Honduras, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Laos, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Marianas, Marquesas, Martinique, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Middle East, Montserrat, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, North America, Niue, Pacific, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Reunion, Sahel, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, SE Asia, Seychelles, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Uruguay, USA, Venezuela, Vietnam, West Africa, West Indies, West Timor, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe
How it is used for food
CAUTION: The seeds are poisonous. The leaves are cooked and eaten. The juice is also used to colour food green. The flowers are cooked with rice to colour it blue. The dried flowers are steeped in boiling water and the coloured water used to tint rice cakes and sweets. The flowers are also eaten in salads. The young pods are cooked and eaten. The seeds are used in soup.
Edible parts
Leaves, pods, flowers - tea, flowers
How it is grown
Plants can be grown from seed or cuttings. For seed the temperature should be at least 19-24°C. Seeds can be slow to germinate. This can be improved by filing, or soaking in hot water to break the hard seed coat. It is grown as an annual plant in temperate zones.
Its other names
Local names
Anchan, Ang chan, Anjan, Aparijita, Aporajita, Asian pigeon wings, Aung-mai-hpyu, Aung-me-nyo, Azulejo, Bejuco de conchitos, Bunga biru, Bunga telang, Campanilla, Cordofan pea, Dau biec, Gokran, Gokurna, Kacang, Kachang telang, Kakkanam, Kakkattan, Kelang, Kembang telang, Kembang teleng, Latoalawa, Menteleng, Mparia, Nanreethimaa, Oporajita, Papito, Pe-nauk-ni, Pokindang, Pukunggan, Samsampin, Sangu pushpam, Supli, Uang-chan, Zapatillo de la reina
Synonyms
Clitoria albiflora Mattei; Clitoria bracteata Poiret; Clitoria coelestris Siebert & Voss; Clitoria parviflora Raf.; Clitoria pilosula Benth.; Clitoria tanganicensis Micheli; Clitoria ternatea L. var. pilosula (Benth.) Baker; Clitoria ternatensium Crantz; Lathyrus spectabilis Forsskal; Ternatea ternatea (L.) Kuntze; Ternatea vulgaris Kuntze; Ternatea vulgaris Humboldt;