Violet Butterfly Pea, originally uploaded by Swami Stream.

English name : Butterfly Pea, Mazerion, Winged Leaved Clitoria

It is a perennial herbaceous plant. Its leaves are elliptic and obtuse. It grows as a vine or creeper, doing well in moist neutral soil. The most striking feature about this plant are its vivid deep blue flowers. They are solitary, with light yellow markings. They are about 4 cm long by 3 cm wide. There are some varieties that yield white flowers.
The fruits are 5 – 7 cm long, flat pods with 6 to 10 seeds in each pod. They are edible when tender.
It is grown as an ornamental plant and as a revegetation species (e.g., in coal mines in Australia), requiring little care when cultivated. Its roots fix nitrogen and therefore this plant is also used to improve soil quality.

Some common names are:
Kulhadhirimaa (Divehi)
Butterfly pea, blue pea vine, mussel-shell climber, pigeon wings (English)
Aparajita (Bangla, Hindi)
Nagar hedi (Kannada)
Bunga telang (Malay)
Sankhupushpam, ശംഖുപുഷ്പം (Malayalam)
Gokarna (Marathi)
Fula criqua (Portuguese)
Aparajita, saukarnika, ardrakarni, girikarnika, supuspi, mohanasini, vishadoshaghni ,Shankhupushpam (Sanskrit)
Sangu pu (Tamil)
Dok anchan, ดอกอัญขัญ (Thai)
Shankhupushpam

Uploaded by Swami Stream on 30 Apr 10, 11.35PM IST.