BUTTERFLY PEA Seeds | Clitoria ternatea

STEP 1 - Soak the seeds in water for 24 hours in spring water to soften the casings.

 

STEP 2 - Fill a medium sized pot with a mix of sand, compost, and potting soil. Make sure the pot has drainage holes at the bottom so your plant doesn’t get waterlogged.

 

STEP 3 - Poke a finger into the soil and make a little opening for the seed to nestle into.  

 

STEP 4 - Put 1 seed in the hole and cover it with soil. Gently smooth the potting soil over the hole to cover it up, but don’t tamp down super hard. You only need to plant 1 seed in each hole since the seeds are usually very successful.  

 

STEP 5 - Water the seed well to establish it in the dirt. These plants love water, so go ahead and give them more than you think they need. Make sure the dirt is wet and don’t stop watering until you can see water running out of the drainage holes at the bottom of the pot. 

 

STEP 6 - Put the pot in a sunny spot so it gets 6 - 8 hours of sunlight daily. Germination should occur within 14 days.

 

STEP 7 - When the seedling is 5cm transplant into the garden. Provide a trellis for the vine to grow upon. The plant will usually begin to flower in 3 months.

In traditional Ayurvedic medicine, it is ascribed with various qualities including memory enhancing, nootropic, anti-stress, anxiolytic, anti-depressant, anti-convulsant, tranquilising and sedative properties. In traditional Chinese medicine, the plant has been ascribed properties affecting female libido due to its similar appearance to the female reproductive organ. Using its extract have also shown its ability to reduce intensity of behavior caused by serotonin and acetylcholine.

 

Its extracts possess a wide range of pharmacological activities including anti-microbial, anti-pyretic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, diuretic, local anesthetic, anti-diabetic, insecticidal, blood platelet aggregation-inhibiting and for use as a vascular smooth muscle relaxing properties.

 

The flowers are mixed with water in a preparation used to treat eye problems. The powdered, ripe seeds are aperient and purgative.The roots are bitter, powerfully cathartic, diuretic and purgative.  The rootbark is diuretic and laxative. The plant is used in the treatment of snakebites. The seeds contain a fixed oil, a bitter resinous principle and tannins. The rootbark contains tannins. This plant has a long use in traditional Ayurvedic medicine for several diseases and the scientific studies has reconfirmed those with modern relevance.

The young pods are eaten as a vegetable.The flowers are used to give a blue tinge to tea, drinks, rice cakes and boiled rice.Young leaves are cooked and used as a vegetable. The leaves can also be used to colour food. The flowers are used to make Magic Blue Tea.

Ingredients

 

7 dried Blue Vagina Plant flowers

1 cup boiling water

lemon or lime wedge

2 drops almond extract

1 teaspoon of honey

2 ice cubes

 

Brewing the Tea

 

Place the dried flowers into a glass plunger so you can see the color effect.

 

Pour 1 cup of hot water on top of the tea in the strainer.

Steep the tea for 10 minutes.

 

Plunge and strain the tea into a glass cup and allow to cool.

Add a drop of Almond Extract and Honey and stir.

 

Changing the Color of the Tea

 

Now at this point you can stir the tea vigorously creating a swirl and add either lemon juice or lime juice.

 

When you add citric acid to the tea, it changes the pH which is what initiates the visually appealing color change from blue to pink.

 

Chill with ice cubes and enjoy!

This vine has a reputation as a potential fodder plant, hay or cover crop. It has been extensively tested as such, especially in the sub-humid to semi-arid tropics. It has never been used in extensive areas, although it is used by smallholders. It is used as a cover crop in Coconut plantations in southern India and in Rubber plantations in Malaysia. A fast-growing plant, it provides good ground cover and fixes nitrogen into the soil.

Chemical compounds isolated from Clitoria ternatea include various Triterpenoids, Flavonol Glycosides, Anthocyanins and Steroids. Cyclic Peptides known as Cliotides have been isolated from the extract. The blue colour  is a result of various Anthocyanins, most importantly Ternatins.