Shankhpushpi

Family

Convolvulaceae

Native

Tropical America

Description

Clitoria Ternatea or Butterfly pea is a short-lived, herbaceous, perennial climbing, scrambling or trailing herb with a strong woody rootstock. It produces slender new annual stems that grow up to 3 metres long from the woody base each year. The stems do not root at the nodes.

This beautiful creeper has wonderful medicinal uses and especially it’s use in enhancing the memory and reducing stress in very popular.

The plant is harvested from the wild as a food, medicine and dye. It has also long been cultivated, as a medicinal and dye plant; an ornamental for its showy flowering display; and as a soil improver in plantations. 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.

Environment

does well on heavy clay soils. Prefers a position in full sun. It succeeds within a pH range of 5.5 - 8.9 Plants can succeed on a variety of soils as long as they are well-drained, but prefer a fertile, friable soil, growing poorly on infertile sandy soils if they not fertilized

Time to flowering can range from 7 - 11 weeks. Subsequent flowering flushes overlap pod maturation from the previous flush, and they continue throughout the year in frost-free regions

Landscape Uses

Perfect for containers, as a filler or as ground cover.