Butterfly Pea

August 5, 2025

Butterfly Pea (Clitoria mariana), a herbaceous, perennial vine up to three or four feet long. Though it is a vine, it generally stays close to the ground. Usually the plant has only one flower but on occasion it will have two or three blooms. Leaves are alternate, and trifoliate (divided into three leaflets). A member of the Pea (Fabaceae) family.

It’s native to the eastern (New York to Florida), southern (clear to Texas), and central United States (including Missouri and Iowa) west to New Mexico and Arizona, stretching into northern Mexico.

I had no idea this plant existed until I stumbled upon it while hiking. What a beautiful surprise.

_______________________

If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!




Published by

Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.