Spurred butterfly-pea
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Centrosema virginianum
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Fabaceae
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Landscape Uses:
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Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations. Also wildflower and butterfly gardens. |
Ecological Restoration Notes: |
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A relatively common element of pinelands and open, coastal uplands. |
Availability: |
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Grown by enthusiasts. |
Description: |
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Trailing or twining vine with delicate stems. |
Height: |
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N/A; a vine with stems to 6 feet or more in length, but often shorter. Sometimes spreads and forms small open patches. |
Growth Rate: |
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Moderate. |
Range: |
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Central and southern United States west to Texas and south to the Monroe County Keys; West Indies, southern Mexico, Central America and South America. In the Monroe County Keys, apparently disjunct from Miami-Dade County to Bahia Honda and the lower Keys; also reported for Windley Key, where perhaps introduced. |
Habitats: |
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Pinelands and coastal uplands. |
Soils: |
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Moist, well-drained sandy or limestone soils, with or without humusy top layer. |
Nutritional Requirements: |
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Low to moderate; it can grow in nutrient poor soils or soils with some organic content. |
Salt Water Tolerance: |
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Low; does not tolerate flooding by salt or brackish water. |
Salt Wind Tolerance: |
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High; can tolerate moderate amounts of salt wind without significant injury. |
Drought Tolerance: |
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High; does not require any supplemental water once established. |
Light Requirements: |
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Full sun to light shade. |
Flower Color: |
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Purplish lavender to nearly white, about 1" long. |
Flower Characteristics: |
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Showy. |
Flowering Season: |
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All year; peak summer-fall. |
Fruit: |
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Flat pod (legume). |
Wildlife and Ecology: |
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Larval host plant for long-tailed skipper (Urbanus proteus) and northern cloudywing (Thorybes pylades) butterflies. Attracts bee pollinators. |
Horticultural Notes: |
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Can be grown from seed. The pods will open and eject the seeds when completely ripe, so collect pods when mature and store in a paper bag until they open. |
Comments: |
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Forms in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties have narrow leaflets, and are segregated by some authors as C. angustifolia; forms to the north and west have broad leaflets. Appropriate sources of material should be used. See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation's Flower Friday page.
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George D. Gann in habitat, Miami-Dade County, Florida, 2013
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Michelle Hayden In habitat, Eleuthera, Bahamas, 2013
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Michelle Hayden In habitat, Eleuthera, Bahamas, 2013
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