Butterfly Pea Flower
(Clitoria Ternatea L.)
Butterfly Pea Flower
(Clitoria Ternatea L.)
Butterfly Pea Flower originates from Latin America or Asia but is now naturalized in semi-arid and sub-humid tropical areas, Africa, and Australia. In Indonesia, the flower is cultivated because, besides its health benefits, it is also used as an ornamental plant and as a dye for food, tea drinks, or cakes. The blue color extracted from the flower is used in the pharmaceutical industry. Butterfly Pea Flower contains high levels of antioxidants in the form of flavonoids which can neutralize free radicals in the body and maintain youthful skin.
This plant prefers moist environmental conditions, loose soil, sandy soil, or clay soil with a soil pH range of 5.5–8.9. It thrives in full sunlight, a temperature range of 19–28°C, and rainfall ranging from 500–900 mm/year, and it is tolerant of drought. It is usually found in yards, forest edges, edges of rice fields, or plantations.
Stem: Round, with small hairs on the surface. Its growth direction is twining (climbing irregularly), moving upwards using twining branches.
Leaves: Compound, oval-shaped, pinnate venation, smooth edges, the leaf surface has fine hairs.
Flower: Single, emerging from the leaf axils (flos axillaris). The calyx is funnel-shaped. The corolla (petals) is purple, there are 10 stamens, and the calyx consists of 5 sepals.
Seed: Green when young and turns brownish when old.
Propagation: Generatively (seeds).
Facilitates urination, remedy for bronchitis, blackens and strengthens hair, promotes menstruation, treats skin diseases, earache, boils or swelling on the skin, an eye cleanser, cures red eyes, and acts as an antimicrobial.
High-cysteine-containing peptides, phenols, delphinidin, triglucoside, alkaloids, flavonoids, flavonols, kaempferol 3-rutinoside, quercetin, myricetin 3-neohesperidosides, myricetin 3-glucosides, saponins, taraxerol, anthocyanins.
Socfindo Conservation. 2023. Telang https://www.socfindoconservation.co.id/plant/392 (29-04-2023)