Louisiana Plant ID | Centrosema virginianum (spurred butterfly pea)

FAMILY: FABACEAE

ALTERNATE COMMON NAME:

LEAVES: deciduous; alternate; compound with 3 leaflets, 1 to 2.5 -inch long; egg-shaped to nearly lance-like; entire

FLOWER: single or in clusters of 2-4, in leaf axils; upside down violet flowers, 0.75 to 1.5 inch long; calyx is five-lobed, five petaled; large lower lip, usually white at the mid-vein; July-August

FRUIT: legume; pod that spirals after splitting at maturity

TWIGS:

FORM: trailing or twining vine/forb/herb; 6-12 ft

HABITAT: acid soils, sandy woodlands, and fields

RANGE: native throughout the southeast; New Jersey south to Florida; west to Texas; north to Arkansas.

USES:

Best Recognition Features:

flowers position up-side down
long spur, or claw, at the back of the flower

School of Renewable Natural Reources	Louisiana Plant Identification and Interactive Virtual Tours Dr. Chris S. Reid, Project Director \| creid4@lsu.edu LSU School of Renewable Natural Resources LSU AgCenter, Baton Rouge, LA © 2003-2020 website problems or broken links: mbowen@agcenter.lsu.edu page revised: 15-Jan-2020 4:11 PM msb	LSU AgCenter
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