• Family : FABACEAE
  (Pea Or Bean Family)
• Family (Hindi name) : PALASH FAMILY (पलाश फैमिली)
• Family (as per The APG System III) : Fabaceae
• Subfamily : Faboideae
• Synonym(s) : Clitoria albiflora Mattei; Clitoria bracteata Poir.; Clitoria mearnsii De Wild.; Clitoria parviflora Raf.; Clitoria philippensis Perr.; Clitoria spectabilis Salisb.; Clitoria tanganicensis Micheli; Clitoria ternatea f. albiflora (Voigt) Fantz; Clitoria ternatea f. fasciculata Fantz; Clitoria ternatea f. leucopetala Fantz; Clitoria ternatea var. major Paxton; Clitoria ternatea var. pleniflora Fantz; Clitoria ternatea f. subpolyadelpha Fantz; Clitoria ternatensium Crantz; Clitoria zanzibarensis Vatke; Deguelia javanica (Miq.) Taub.; Derris javanica Miq.; Lathyrus spectabilis Forssk.; Nauchea bracteata Dupuis ex Descourt.; Nauchea ternatea (L.) Descourt.; Phaseolus clitorius Noronha; Pterocarpus javanicus (Miq.) Kuntze; Ternatea indica J.St.-Hil.; Ternatea ternatea (L.) Kuntze; Ternatea vulgaris Kunth; Wisteria dubia Walp.
• Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Clitoria ternatea L.
• Common name : Butterfly Pea, Clitoria
• Vernacular name :
  • Aparajita (Hindi)
  • Sangapusha, Shankpushpi (Kannada)
  • Kaakkattan, Sankupuspam, Karka kartum (Tamil)
  • Nalla-ghantana, Sanku-poolu, Shanku pushpi (Telugu)
  • Aparajita (Oria)
  • Shankapushpi (Sanskrit)
  • Gokarn (Marathi)
  • Aaral Kakkanamkoti, Malayamukki, Sankupushpum (Malayalam)
  • Aparajita (Assamese)
  • Aparajita (Manipuri)
  • Aparaajitaa, Shankhapushpee, Gokarna (Nepali)
  • Aparajita (Bengali)
• Habit : Climber
• Habitat : Deciduous forests also cultivated as ornamental
• Comments / notes : Cultivated for its decorative flowers
• Flower, Fruit : February-December
• Collector(s) Name : Raja K.Swamy
• Collection Date : 10/12/2010
• Collection Nos : FAP 41949
• Collection Locality : Nuthanakaluva, Anantapur district (AP)
• Distribution :
  • Andhra Pradesh : Anantapur district, Chittoor district, Y.S.R. Kadapa district, East Godavari district, Guntur district, Krishna district, Kurnool district, S.P.S. Nellore district, Prakasam district, Srikakulam district, Visakhapatnam district, Vizianagaram district, West Godavari district
  • Telangana : Nalgonda district, Khammam district, Mahbubnagar district
  • Karnataka : Ballari district, Chamarajanagara district, Kolar district
  • Kerala : All districts of Kerala
  • Maharashtra : Akola district
  • Odisha : Angul district, Balasore district, Bargarh district, Balangir district, Boudh district, Cuttack district, Deogarh district, Dhenkanal district, Gajapati district, Ganjam district, Kalahandi district, Kandhamal district, Kendrapara district, Kendujhar district, Khordha district, Koraput district, Malkangiri district, Mayurbhanj district, Puri district, Rayagada district,Sambalpur district, Sundargarh district
  • Tamil Nadu : Coimbatore district, Dindigul district, Dharmapuri district, Kancheepuram (Changalpattu-CGP) district, Karur district, Krishnagiri district, Madurai district, Namakkal district, Pudukkottai district, Sivaganga district, Salem district, Tiruchirapalli district, Tiruvannamalai district, Villipuram district, Vellore district
  • Uttarakhand : Uttarakhand
  • West Bengal : West Bengal
  • Himachal Pradesh : Himachal Pradesh
  • Delhi : Delhi
  • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
  • Punjab : Punjab
• Native : Angola, Benin, Burkina, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Caprivi Strip, Central African Repu, China, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gulf of Guinea Islands, Hainan, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Nor
• Exotic/Native : Exotic
• World Distribution : Widely cultivated in Tropics
• Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
• Literature :
  • Pullaiah et al., 2001 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 2
  • H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1994- Flora of Orissa Vol. 1
  • R. S. Rao et al., 1986 - Flora of West Godavari District
  • R. S. Rao and S. H. Sreeramulu, 1986 - Flora of Srikakulam District
  • H. O. Saxena and M. Brahmam, 1989 - The Flora of Similipahar (Similipal), Orissa
  • N.P.Singh, 1988. Flora of Eastern Karnataka
  • Matthew, K.M., Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983
  • Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI
  • Henry, Kumari & Chithra (1983). Flora of Tamil Nadu, India vol. 1
  • M.R. Almeida (1998). Flora of Maharashtra vol.2
  • Uniyal B.P., Sharma J.R., Choudhery U., Singh D.K. (2007). Flowering Plants of Uttarakhand: A Checklist. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh: 103
  • GRIERSON A.J.C. & LONG D.G. (1983). FLORA OF BHUTAN INCLUDING A RECORD OF PLANTS FROM SIKKIM Vol. 1: Part 3. ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN, EDINBURGH: 696
  • H J, Chowdhery, et al. Flora of Himachal Pradesh. Volume 1, Botanical Survey of India, 1984. Pg.: 194
• Read more :
  • Plants of the World Online
  • World Flora Online
  • Global Plants on JSTOR
• Permalink : http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Clitoria ternatea
• Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2026). India Flora Online. http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Clitoria ternatea. Downloaded on 12 February 2026.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Line Drawings

Field Image(s)

Distribution District wise

India Distribution

World Distribution