The following description is taken from Flora of China Editorial Committee (2016):
Herbs. Stems twining, slender, densely deciduous adpressed shortly villous. Leaves 2.5–5 cm, pinnately 5- to 7-foliolate, usually 5-foliolate;stipules small, linear, 2–5 mm;petiole 1.5–3 cm;stipels small, bristlelike;petiolules 1–2 mm;leaflets broadly elliptic or almost ovate, 2.5–5 x 1.5–3.5 cm, thinly papery or almost membranous, adpressed shortly villous or sometimes glabrous on both surfaces, lateral veins 4 or 5 pairs, base obtuse, apex obtuse, slightly emarginate, usually with mucro. Flowers large, solitary in axil;bracteoles green, small, suborbicular or obovate, membranous, with obvious reticulate veins. Calyx membranous, 1.5–2 cm, 5-lobed;lobes lanceolate, less than 1/2 of tube, apex acuminate. Corolla sky blue, pink, or white, to 5.5 cm;standard faintly white or orange in middle, broadly obovate, ca. 3 cm, base shortly clawed;wings and keels much shorter than standard, both clawed;wings obovate-oblong;keels elliptic. Ovary villous. Legume brown, linear-oblong, 5–11 x 0.7–1 cm, compressed, with long beak. Seeds 6–10, black, oblong, ca. 0.6 x 0.4 cm, with obvious strophiole.
There are varieties with double flowers and white flowers (Flora of Panama, 2016).
Related invasive species
- Clitoria ternatea
Related Farm Practice
- Flora
Related location
- Panama
C. ternatea is a pasture legume also commercialized as a garden ornamental that has been widely introduced in agroforestry systems in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Traits such as its high growth-rates, drought tolerance and adaptation to heavy clay soils suggest that this species could be used to improve natural grasslands (Staples, 1992). However, these traits have also helped this species to escape from cultivation and become an invasive species in river banks, creek lines, the margins of waterholes, irrigation channels, disturbed sites, roadsides and disturbed open woodlands and grasslands in Australia, Hawaii, the Galapagos Islands, Fiji, and on many islands in the Pacific region (Smith, 1985;Wagner et al., 1999;PIER, 2016;Weeds of Australia, 2016). C. ternatea is an aggressive colonizer of disturbed sites and open areas with the capability to displace and completely outcompete native vegetation (Weeds of Australia, 2016). Past risk assessments have given it a score of 7 (reject) for Australia and 9 (high risk) for the Pacific (PIER, 2016).