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Centrosema virginianum

Common name:	Butterfly Pea	Family:	Leguminosae
Author:	(L.)Benth.	Botanical references:	200, 274
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	South-eastern N. America, as far north as New Jersey, southwards into the Tropics.
Habitat:	Dry sandy soils in woodlands[200].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Bradburya virginiana[B,G,P] C. virginiana[H] C. virginianum var. ellipticum[B,P] Clitoria virginiana[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Corde Violon [E], Liane Fifi [E], Liane Violon [E], Sonajero Azul [E], Spurred Butterfly Pea [H,P], Spurred Butterfly-pea [B],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Fabales. Renamed to Fabaceae -- Pea family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Haiti; Nc; Wi

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 2m. It is hardy to zone 6. It is in flower from July to August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. It can fix Nitrogen. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid soil. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Green manure; Ground cover; Soil stabilization.

The plant can be allowed to grow without supports and it will then sprawl over the ground as an effective ground cover[200].
Plants have been grown as a green manure[200].
The plants extensive root system makes it useful for stabilizing soils and controlling erosion[200].

Cultivation details

Succeeds in any sandy or loamy soil in a sunny position[200]. Tolerant of poor acid soils, dry soils and drought[200].
A climbing plant, supporting itself by twining around other plants[200].
This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[200].

Propagation

Seed - pre-soak for 12 hours in warm water and sow in a greenhouse in the spring. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots once they are large enough to handle and plant out in the summer.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[FAO] Data (Description, Habitat, Location and Use) from the FAO's Grassland Index.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for Centrosema virginiana (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Centrosema+virginianum
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Centrosema+virginianum

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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.