Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fabales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
Clitoria mariana var. mariana
FAMILY
Fabaceae
NEW! Click to go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Butterfly-pea from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Clitoria mariana
FAMILY
Fabaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 098-42-001:
Clitoria mariana
FAMILY
Fabaceae
COMMON NAME:
Butterfly-pea
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_clma4_001_lvd
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JK Marlow jkm0506m_19
June Union County SC
Sumter National Forest: Tyger Ranger District
Leaflets ovate or elliptic, per Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers.
COMPARE
leaves that are trifoliolate and pinnately compound
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JK Marlow jkm210626_1716
June Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
Large flowers on stalks from the leaf axils, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains.
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JK Marlow jkm100702_142
July Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
The calyx has a long tube and shorter lobes (vs. the opposite in Centrosema), per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains.
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JK Marlow s070830_i
August SC
Clemson Forest
Fruit a 1-2.5" legume, per Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers.
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Bill Stringer wcs_clitoria
September
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JK Marlow jkm061029_081
October Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
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JK Marlow jkm061029_089
October Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
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Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_clitoria_mariana_6
October
The standard up to 2" high, the wings & keel much smaller, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains.
COMPARE
Butterfly-pea species
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
Clitoria mariana var. mariana
FAMILY
Fabaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Clitoria mariana
FAMILY
Fabaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 098-42-001:
Clitoria mariana
FAMILY
Fabaceae
350
Herbaceous vine
Perennial
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Habitat: Dry woodlands and openings, roadsides, per Weakley's Flora
NEW! Click here to see a map from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US showing range and abundance.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Odd-pinnately compound: 3 leaflets
Mostly alternate
FLOWER:
Summer
Blue/Lavender
Bilaterally symmetrical
5-parted papilionaceous corolla
10 stamens, monadelphous
Superior ovary
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Legume
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers p053
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses p034
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide p110
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast p414
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry p150
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States p038
- Wild Flowers of NC, 1st edition p102
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition p132
- Wildflowers of Tennessee p129
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians p167
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains p077
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region p086