Butterfly pea: a miracle herb from Asia

Butterfly pea (ClitoriaTernatea) is a tropical plant from the Fabaceae family and you will find it in South and Southeast Asia. It is a perennial climbing plant that grows in tropical forests. You can grow it in our corner of the world, but unfortunately, it is not frost-resistant so it would die in winter. You can grow it as a houseplant, or in a greenhouse. If you grow it in a container, you can take it outside during the summer but obviously, you need to return it back indoors for the winter.

A beautiful and healing plant

People grow this exotic plant for its beautiful dark blue flowers, which have a rather interesting shape… The Latin name says it all. After flowering, the plant forms pods which are 5 to 12 centimetres long. Pods are covered with fine hair and contain six to ten seeds which are known for their laxative effect. Traditional Chinese medicine makes a tonic from butterfly pea, which has diuretic properties. It is used to treat high acidity of digestive system and also chronic bronchitis.

Photo: Pixabay

Sowing

You can buy seeds in Europe, but you will probably have to search for a while. If you wish to speed up germination, soak the seeds overnight in lukewarm water. Make sure to sow in a high-quality substrate (cover the seeds lightly with the substrate) and maintain temperature between 20 and 25 °C. An adult plant can tolerate lower temperatures range but still, try maintaining the range between 15 to 24 °C. You have a warmth loving plant so you need to choose sunny location.

Photo: Pixabay

Flowering

In an ideal environment, stems of butterfly pea can reach a length of up to 3 meters. It blooms from March to May – flowers are about 4 centimetres long and have petals of different sizes and shapes, which resemble woman’s private parts… Flowers are usually blue, but you can also find yellow or white flowers.

Preview photo: Pixabay