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  • અપરાજિતા अपराजिता (Clitoria ternatea (blue) (white))

    Pieter Bruijsten

  • અપરાજિતા अपराजिता (Clitoria ternatea (blue) (white))

    Susan Brown

  • અપરાજિતા अपराजिता (Clitoria ternatea (blue) (white))

    prasadnayak2002

  • અપરાજિતા अपराजिता (Clitoria ternatea (blue) (white))
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અપરાજિતા अपराजिता

Clitoria ternatea (blue) (white)

Butterfly Pea

Native

Commonly known as Clitoria, Garnibibri.

A short-lived, perennial twining climber with a strong woody rootstock, sending out new annual stems up to 3 metres long each year. Its vivid blue (or white) flowers are as functional as they are pretty, used across South and Southeast Asia to dye food a striking natural blue.

Habit Climber, Flowers
Origin Native
Flowering Winter, Monsoon
Edible Yes
Sun Full sun
Water Drought tolerant
Drainage Needs to drain well
Soil Almost any, including clay
Soil pH 5.5–8.9
Started from Seed

No specific wildlife-relationship data recorded for this species.

  • Hand-harvested seed often stays hard for a long time and needs scarification before sowing, mechanical abrasion, hot water, or sulphuric acid all work.
  • Sow from the start to the middle of the wet season, at 3-5kg of seed per hectare in well-prepared beds, placing seed 1.5-4cm deep and lightly covered (higher rates, 5-8kg/ha, for rougher ground).
  • Germination is quick: the radicle emerges within 48-72 hours and seedlings appear in 3-6 days depending on planting depth.
  • Seed inoculation with rhizobia usually isn't necessary, but broad-spectrum cowpea inoculum can be used if desired.

No cultural-significance data recorded for this species.

  • Flowers colour rice cakes and boiled rice a vivid blue; young leaves are cooked as a vegetable and can also be used as a natural food dye.
  • Young pods are eaten as a vegetable.
  • A flower-and-water preparation treats eye problems, and powdered ripe seeds work as a mild laxative.
  • Root bark is diuretic and laxative, and the roots (notably bitter and strongly cathartic) treat snakebite.

These uses are documented for information only and are not medical advice. Always verify the species and the plant part before use.

Occurs in grassland, open woodland, bush, riverine vegetation, and disturbed ground throughout its range, and is widely cultivated across the tropics.

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