Clitoria Explained

Clitoria is a genus of mainly tropical and subtropical, insect-pollinated flowering pea vines.

Taxonomy

Naming of the genus

See also: List of taxa named after human genitals.

This genus was named after the human clitoris, for the flowers bear a resemblance to the vulva. The first reference to the genus, which includes an illustration of the plant, was made in 1678 by Jakób Breyne, a Polish naturalist, who described it as Flos clitoridis ternatensibus, meaning 'Ternatean flower of the clitoris'.[1] [2] Many vernacular names of these flowers in different languages are similarly based on references to female external genitalia.[3]

Controversies existed in the past among botanists regarding the good taste of the naming of the genus. The analogy drew sharp criticism from botanists such as James Edward Smith in 1807, Amos Eaton in 1817, Michel Étienne Descourtilz in 1826, and Eaton and Wright in 1840. Some less explicit alternatives, like Vexillaria (Eaton 1817) and Nauchea (Descourtilz 1826), were proposed, but they failed to prosper, and the name Clitoria has survived to this day.[4]

Species

, Plants of the World Online accepted the following species:[5]

Distribution

These plants are native to tropical, subtropical and temperate areas of the world, ranging through the temperate and tropical Americas, sub-Saharan Africa, Arabian Peninsula, Indian Subcontinent, Indochina, southern China, and Western Australia and the Northern Territory.[5]

Uses

The most widely known species of the genus is Clitoria ternatea, also known as butterfly pea. It is used as an herbal medicine,[6] [7] and it is used as food, as well.[8] [9] Its roots are used in ayurveda Hindu medicine.[10]

See also

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. 4034108. Nomenclatural Notes on the Genus Clitoria for the Flora North American Project. Castanea. 65. 2. 89–92. Fantz. Paul R.. 2000.
  2. Book: Breyne, Jakób . 1678 . Exoticarum aliarumque minus cognitarum plantarum centuria prima . Exotic and other less-known plants of the first century . Latin . Biblioteca Digital del Real Jardin Botanico de Madrid . David-Fridericus Rhetius.
  3. [Clitoria ternatea#Names|Clitoria ternatea]
  4. Paul R. . Fantz . 1991 . Ethnobotany of Clitoria (Leguminosae) . Economic Botany . 45 . 4 . 511–20 . 4255394 . 10.1007/BF02930715. 38939748 .
  5. Web site: Clitoria L. . Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2021-06-24 .
  6. Mukherjee PK, Kumar V, Kumar NS, Heinrich M . The Ayurvedic medicine Clitoria ternatea-From traditional use to scientific assessment . Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 2008 . 120 . 3 . 291–301 . 10.1016/j.jep.2008.09.009. 18926895 .
  7. Paul R. . Fantz . 1991 . Ethnobotany of Clitoria (Leguminosae) . Economic Botany . 45 . 4 . 511–20 . 4255394 . 10.1007/BF02930715. 38939748 .
  8. Web site: Flora and Fauna Web: Clitoria ternatea L. .
  9. Web site: Watch this tea dramatically change from deep blue to vibrant red with a squeeze of lemon . Chloe . Pantazi . February 26, 2016 . July 2, 2016 . Business Insider Deutchsland . September 30, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180930231310/https://www.businessinsider.de/watch-this-magic-tea-change-colour-video-2016-2?r=US&IR=T . dead .
  10. Book: APARËJITË (Root) . 10–11 . The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India (Part I Volume II) . http://www.ayurveda.hu/api/API-Vol-2.pdf . Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

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