Butterfly Pea is a low-growing, dense, evergreen, perennial twining vine in the pea family that is native to the southeastern United States and often found in dry open forests or rocky or sandy woodlands. This plant has trailing stems, but seldom climbs and stays close to the ground. The twining vine is occasionally erect and boasts large, showy, lavender-pink, pea-like flowers. The flowers blossom from spring into the fall and are usually solitary, but occasionally up to 3. The blossoms appear in the axils of the plant's compound leaves. This plant does best in dry sandy or loamy soil with good drainage. It prefers light shade, but will tolerate full sun and nutritionally poor soils. It is capable of fixing nitrogen into the soil. This lovely plant is noted for its lavender-blue flowers with their large, rounded banner and trifoliate leaves, dark green above and a light, grayish-green beneath. Quick ID Hints : Young stems,leaves covered with reddish-brown hairs Funnel-form flowers in spring, single or hose-in-hose Low, dense shrub with crowded evergreen leaves in tiers Calyx rounded, 5-lobed, short Diseases, Insect Pests, and Other Plant Problems: No known diseases or insect pests. The plant is habitat dependent and can be eliminated from an area by a change in land use or by competitive plants.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Alkaline (>8.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Occasionally Dry
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
6 - Vine (vertical)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Creeping; Dense; Spreading
Texture
Fine
Foliage
Broadleaf Evergreen
Leaf color
Green
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Lanceolate; Ovate
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf feel
Smooth
Leaf size
1-3 inches long
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Stalked leaves are divided into 1 to 2 inch egg-shaped or lance-shaped leaflets. Leaves are alternate, petiolate, and trifoliate. The leaflets are ovate to lanceolate in outline, glabrous above and glabrous or short pubescent beneath, with entire margins.
Flower color
Blue; Pink; Purple/Lavender; White
Flower value
Long Bloom Season
Flower form
Raceme
Flower size
1-3 inches
Flower detail
Flowers bloom from May through September. This plant has 2 inch, pale lavender-blue to violet flowers. It has a large rounded standard which is notched at the tip. The keel and white petals are short. This plant has 1 to 3 flowers per stalk that arise from the axils of leaves. Small bud-like flowers are produced late in the season.
Bloom time
Spring; Summer
Fruit type
Legume
Fruit detail
The fruit is a flattened legume. The seed are sticky.
Stem color
Green
Stem detail
Stems are erect to reclining or trailing, glabrous to sparsely pubescent with short, fine, curved hairs, and unbranched or branched from near the base. The stems are green in color.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
Eastern and South Central United States west to New Mexico.
Distribution
United States and southern Asia.
Wildlife value
Attracts butterflies, birds, and moths. Larval host to the long-tailed skipper.