Perennials > Clitoria > Clitoria fragrans > Clitoria fragrans
Clitoria fragrans
Scrub Pigeon-wing, Sweet-scented Pigeon-wing
Origin: Native to central Florida.
| Family |
| Fabaceae |
| Genus |
| Clitoria |
| Species |
| fragrans |
| Category |
| Perennials |
| Synonyms |
| Martiusia fragrans |
| USDA Hardiness Zone |
| 5a - 9b |
| Canadian Hardiness Zone |
| 6 - 8 |
| RHS Hardiness Zone |
| H7 - H4 |
| Temperature (°C) |
| (-28.8) - (-3.8) |
| Temperature (°F) |
| (-25) - 25 |
| Height |
| 15-100 cm |
| Spread |
| 60-90 cm |
Photographs
Cultivars
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Description and Growing Information
Flowering Period
| General Description |
| Perennial herb 15 - 50 cm tall, with erect, purplish, waxy stems. |
| Shape |
| The thick horizontal root, which may grow to more than 2 m long, bears one to several purplish, glaucous, wiry, very straight stems. |
| ID Characteristic |
| The common name of this species refers to the petals of the chasmogamous flowers, which resemble wings (bird-like appearance). |
| Bark/Stem Description |
| Stems one to several from a woody, thickened base, erect, 1 - 2 mm thick, purplish, slightly glaucous, usually unbranched, weakly ziz-zag above, nearly straight below. Taproot 0.5-2 m long. |
| Leaf Description |
| Leaves alternate, with 3 leathery leaflets, oblong, leaflet tip rounded , upper surface dark green with conspicuous veins, lower surface pale green and waxy. |
| Flower Description |
| Showy, fragrant; 2 short wing petals curve forward, almost covering 2 keel petals; banner petal almost 5 cm long, pink to lavender-blue with purplish veins and large white spot; flowers twisted on their stalks so that the banner petal is lowest. Clitoria fragrans have chasmogamous (insect pollinating) and cleistogamous (self-pollinating) flowers. The chasmogamous flowers usually occur in pairs, each corolla consisting of one 3.5 to 5 cm-long. |
| Fruit Description |
| The seed pod (legume) is 5 to 8 cm long and extends from the calyx, waxy, flattened, depressed between the seeds. |
| Texture Description |
| This species can be confused with C. mariana but can be easily distinguished as C. fragrans has purplish, glaucous stems, non-twining habit, narrow leaflets, smaller flowers, and long-stipulate fruit. All parts of plant are poisonous if ingested. |
| Notable Specimens |
| Bok Tower Gardens, Lake Wales, Florida, United States of America. |
| Propagation |
| Clitoria fragrans has two kinds of flowers; the colorful chasmogamous flowers are pollinated by insects, while cleistogamous flowers are self-pollinating. Cross-fertilization of cleistogamous flowers is prevented, since the flowers do not open. ). Chasmogamous flowers bloom from May to June. Cleistogamous flowers occur later in the summer through late September. |
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