Centrosema virginianum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Genus: Centrosema
Species:
C. virginianum
Binomial name
Centrosema virginianum

Centrosema virginianum is known by the common names of spurred butterfly pea,[1] wild blue vine, blue bell, and wild pea.[2] C. virginianum is a member of the family Fabaceae, it is identified by its trailing and twining vine and showy flowers.[3] C. virginianum habitats are in sunny areas within pine lands, and coastal uplands.[3]

Description

Centrosema virginianum is a perennial herbaceous vine [4] growing procumbently or twining to a height approaching two meters.[1][2] It has alternate pinnately divided leaves, 3 to 10 centimeters long. Leaflets are lanceolate or ovate, 1 to 4 cm long,[2] Stipules are often deciduous, and mostly setaceous.[2] There is a wide range of leaflet forms, from linear to ovate to oblong or lanceolate-oblong, acute or acuminate at the apex.[2] Flowering occurs in the spring and summer.[1][4]

Flowers of Centrosema virginianum, are highly specialized, with an inverted (resupinate) banner to accommodate pollinators (bees).[4] The inflorescence consists of one to four bisexual flowers on an axillary peduncle; the calyx is deeply five-lobed, and the acute lobes are longer than the tube.[2] The corolla is purplish or lavender-blue to nearly white;[2] the fruit contains four to ten dark brown seeds.[2] The diversity of leaflet shapes and corolla size and color can lead to confusion with C. pubescens.[2] C. virginianum's roots are capable of nitrogen fixation.[5]

Distribution

Centrosema virginianum ranges more or less continuously from Uruguay and northern Argentina to the eastern United States and Bermuda in tropical and subtropical areas.[2][3] It is widely distributed throughout the West Indies and has become naturalized in tropical West Africa.[2]

See also

  • Clitoria, a vine with which Centrosema virginianum may be confused

References

  1. 1 2 3 "NCNPS Native Plant Gallery". North Carolina Native Plant Society. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "CentrosemaVirginianum". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 "IRC-Natives for your Neighborhood". Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 "Island and Mainland Pollination Ecology of Centrosema Virginianum and Opuntia Stricta". JSTOR 2260423. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  5. ↑ Benth., L. "Plants for the future". Retrieved 18 April 2012.
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