Centrosema virginianum | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Fabales |
Family: | Fabaceae |
Subfamily: | Faboideae |
Genus: | Centrosema |
Species: | C. virginianum
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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]
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]
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]
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