Clitoria Ternatea, White Butterfly Pea

White Butterfly Pea 

Pea flowers for a, biennial tendril sex climbing vegetation, alias sweet peas, peas. 90-180 cm tall, stems often up to 2 m long, winged, pinnate, with 2-5 flowers. Pea flower varieties more, usually half a double and double species, flower is beautiful, butterfly, design and color is bright, have white, blue, purple, pansy has also spotted or edge, such as the complex color varieties.
Clitoria ternatea, common names including butterfly pea, blue pea, Cordofan pea and Asian pigeonwings, is a plant species belonging to the Fabaceae family. The flowers of this vine have the shape of human female genitals, hence the Latin name of the genus "Clitoria", from "clitoris". (Synonyms: Clitoris principissae.)

It is a perennial herbaceous plant, with elliptic, obtuse leaves. 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; 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 re-vegetation species , requiring little care when cultivated. As a legume, its roots form a symbiotic association with soil bacteria known as rhizobia, which transform atmospheric N2 into a plant usable form, therefore, this plant is also used to improve soil quality through the decomposition of N-rich tissue.

In Southeast Asia the flowers are used to colour food. In Malay cooking, an aqueous extract is used to colour glutinous rice for kuih ketan (also known as pulut tai tai in Peranakan/Nyonya cooking) and in nyonya chang. In Kelantan it is used to colour white rice for Nasi kerabu. In Thailand, a syrupy blue drink is made called nam dok anchan (น้ำดอกอัญชัน), it is sometimes consumed with a drop of sweet lime juice to increase acidity and turn the juice into pink-purple. In Burmese and Thai cuisine the flowers are also dipped in batter and fried.

MEDICINAL BENEFITS

In traditional Ayurvedic medicine, it has been used for centuries as a memory enhancer, nootropic, antistress, anxiolytic, antidepressant, anticonvulsant, tranquilizing and sedative agent.

In traditional Chinese medicine, owing to its similarity to the female body part, this plant has been ascribed properties affecting the same (a phenomenon also found in connection with the mandrake, among other plants). It was used traditionally in an attempt to treat sexual ailments, like infertility and gonorrhea, to control menstrual discharge, and also as an aphrodisiac. This practice aligns with an ancient belief recorded in the Doctrine of Signatures.

In animal tests the methanolic extract of Clitoria ternatea roots demonstrated nootropic, anxiolytic, antidepressant, anticonvulsant and antistress activity. The active constituents include tannins, resins, starch, taraxerol and taraxerone.

Recently, several biologically active peptides called cliotides have been isolated from the heat-stable fraction of Clitoria ternatea extract. Cliotides belong to the cyclotides family and activities studies show that cliotides display potent antimicrobial activity against E. coli, K. pneumonia, P. aeruginosa and cytotoxicity against Hela cells. These peptides have potential to be leading compounds for the development of novel antimicrobial and anti-cancer agents.

The enzyme responsible for the biosynthesis and backbone cyclization of cliotides has recently been isolated. It was named Butelase 1 in accordance to its local name in Singapore (Bunga Telang Ligase). Butelase 1 is the fastest peptide ligase known capable of catalyzing peptide cyclization at an extraordinarily efficiency.

ITEM SPECIFICATIONS:

Use: Indoor/Outdoor Plants
Cultivating Difficulty Degree: Very Easy
Classification: Canned Plant
Type: Blooming, Herbs Plants
Location: Courtyard
Function: Beautifying
Size: Small
Style: Perennial, Indian Butterfly Pea
Color: White, Purple and Blue
Full-bloom Period: Winter
Growth period: 70-80 days
Seeding temperature: (18-25 temperature)
The growth temperature: (18-36 temperature)

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