Butterfly Peas; straight answer please.

[Pulsegleaner]

Hi all,
Can anyone give me a straight answer as to whether red flowered butterfly peas actually EXIST. I've seen a few people offer them (like this one https://www.ebay.com/itm/4033200345...3bkYM0GeYKzz6QPm+jnasydx11|tkp:Bk9SR9Tmjb7UYA) But all seem well outside the US (which means actually ordering any would have to wait until I got my small seed lots permit, and even then, relying on the seller to listen when I tell them where to send the seed.). When I go online and search, I find plenty of pictures, but none I can confirm aren't photoshopped. And I hear contradictory information ("It's real, It's a hoax, It's a different species etc....) HELP!

 

[flowerbug]

Hi all,
Can anyone give me a straight answer as to whether red flowered butterfly peas actually EXIST. I've seen a few people offer them (like this one https://www.ebay.com/itm/403320034592?hash=item5de7bf5520:g:kWMAAOSw3AJhoIqK&amdata=enc:AQAHAAAA4AjRQAZfBDuRf/3FATZvsQYLfOmpjQutMlPZ2N2oKNPwjUTdbfEBlQ5TDOPDJELfIbm7XaMVCyxc0iD31ScOHQOm67neMIhXL1bP+sqTAbVqZ+BchaNuAM/Yoqf3ln/wBthcYRBAMQp9rfABFrmngCI18DIxR6aILGtnpCEtkGkNut6xes8JgkbdtnPpCav/uf/QweF5KUlIte2d4lWTEOhMx9UVtoKsSUDhUDMSnI20l2He4Nb3HCInfUP6f/jsLhEJaW2/NNrQx5SYyR3bkYM0GeYKzz6QPm+jnasydx11|tkp:Bk9SR9Tmjb7UYA) But all seem well outside the US (which means actually ordering any would have to wait until I got my small seed lots permit, and even then, relying on the seller to listen when I tell them where to send the seed.). When I go online and search, I find plenty of pictures, but none I can confirm aren't photoshopped. And I hear contradictory information ("It's real, It's a hoax, It's a different species etc....) HELP!

considering i've never heard of them before reading your post i was able to find this after a few minutes of searching:

How to Grow and Care Butterfly Pea: Clitoria Ternatea - Garden Bagan

What is Butterfly Pea? – Butterfly pea is a beautiful flowering plant. It is a flowering vine native to tropical Asian and African countries. The specific name butterfly pea is

gardenbagan.com

specifically:

"

What are the Types of Butterfly Pea?​

Main Variants	Blue & White Butterfly Pea
Other rare Variants	Purple, Light Blue, Pink, Red & Black Clitoria ternatea flowers.

"

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Well, we know light blue exists, I have that. And your's you said are sort of purple, so that covers that (a lot of people also confuse butterfly pea with SPURRED butterfly pea, Centrosema sp.)


Black I am dubious about, a "black" flower is usually a really dark purple one, and the purples we see are fairly light.

It is fully possible that whoever made a list simply listed all of the colors they had heard of, without confirming their accuracy, so this isn't definitive proof either.

 

[heirloomgal]

Interesting @Pulsegleaner. I don't know about all these other colours, I thought the blue colouring and it's medicinal/culinary qualities was the 'main' one. I wonder if some breeding went in to these others, or if there are actually natural variations in the plant. Not sure how it could be confirmed one way or another.

I know one thing though, I don't think I'll be getting seeds from mine. They are flowering like crazy but as soon as the flower fades the whole thing just drops right off. There are two plants, but maybe they need insects? They certainly don't seem to be making any pods despite all the lovely flowers.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Well, white and light blue are pretty easily explained. Nearly all flowers can have a white variant; just turn off the pigment producing pathway and there you go. And light is just a matter of turning it off here and there (if you actually look at a picture of the light blue, you'll see it's more like white with some blue veins and edges, not a uniform pale blue).

Purple or red would be harder to pull off, as they would require changes in the actual pathway of pigment production; changes I am not sure how to go about (since I don't know the pathway in the first place.)

Doubles as well, one mutation for a second set of petals and there you are.

Actually the fact that yours are doubles might be contributing to your lack of pods, the double petals may mess up the flower arrangement enough that the insects can't get in like they should (I certainly know that, the more layers my marigolds have, the harder it is to get good seed out of them naturally. Ditto sunflowers) If you really want seed, you may have to look up how to hand pollinate.

 

[heirloomgal]

It may be harming my seed saving cause that they are in the greenhouse; not that insects can't get in there, but maybe the ones needed for these flowers are not around? I don't know. But outside the GH I doubt they'd be getting enough heat to flower.

Funny you should mention the doubles being a problem for insect pollination. I didn't know that. The morello de balbis has been flowering since June, and only now seem to be forming actual fruit. What took so long? Flower structure, heat, night temp, day length? I don't get it why they are only now starting to pollinate. And it looks like all the SAME flowers from June. They haven't been dropping and then making new flowers. Odd.

Side note, FINALLY got the pepicha to flower!!! It's a miracle!!! Seedheads look like little mini dandelions, requires such a careful handling!

 

[ducks4you]

Just to add to the mess~

Spurred butterfly-pea - Florida Wildflower Foundation

Spurred butterfly-pea (Centrosema virginianum) is a trailing or climbing vine that typically bloom in summer, but can bloom spring through fall, or year-round in South Florida.

www.flawildflowers.org

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Just to add to the mess~

Spurred butterfly-pea - Florida Wildflower Foundation

Spurred butterfly-pea (Centrosema virginianum) is a trailing or climbing vine that typically bloom in summer, but can bloom spring through fall, or year-round in South Florida.

www.flawildflowers.org

Oh, I've know about spurred butterfly pea almost longer that I've known about the regular kind, they show up MUCH more often in searches than the regular ones do. I actually think their seeds are STUNNING (they medium brown, with dark brown streaks edged with gold). Centosema pubescens (the cultivated one) can have even prettier seeds (though all of the samples I have managed to get are flat brown).

The only time they give trouble is when you are searching for the somewhat hard to find ACTUAL purple butterfly pea, since a lot of people forget the "spurred" in the name, and that the two are different plants.