Centrosema plumieri (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Centrosema plumieri (Turpin ex Persoon) Benth.

Family: Leguminosae - Papilionoideae

Synonyms

• Clitoria plumieri Turpin ex Persoon.

Vernacular names

• Butterfly pea (En).
• Pois piant, cocotte ferme (Fr)
• Indonesia: kacang katropong (Sundanese).

Distribution

Native to tropical America, introduced into Africa, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, where it is also found naturalized. It is occasionally cultivated pantropically.

Uses

A shade-tolerant cover crop in plantations of cocoa, rubber, coconut and oil palm, now largely replaced by C. pubescens Benth. Used as green manure in sugar cane and in grassland improvement.

Observations

• Perennial trailing and winding herb, almost glabrous, woody at base.
• Leaves trifoliolate; leaflets ovate-elliptical, 5-7 cm × 2-13 cm, subglabrous.
• Inflorescence an axillary raceme with 1-10 flowers, up to 7 cm long.
• Calyx 7-8 mm long; standard white or purple, pubescent, 4-6 cm in diameter.
• Pod 8-20 cm × 9-16 mm, beak 1-2.5 cm long, 4-ribbed.
• Seed up to 1 cm long, dark brown to black.

C. plumieri nodulates well, but is not adapted to acid soils. Green manure yield is up to 16 t/ha. In Florida (United States), C. plumieri performed better than C. pubescens; in Belize (Central America) "CF 16-1" was reasonably productive.

Selected sources

• Flora of Tropical East Africa (various editors), 1952-. Crown Agents for Oversea Governments and Administrations, London, United Kingdom & A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
• Heyne, K., 1950. De nuttige planten van Indonesië [The useful plants of Indonesia]. 3rd Edition. 2 volumes. W. van Hoeve, the Hague, the Netherlands/Bandung, Indonesia. 261, 1450 pp.
• Lock, J.M., 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, United Kingdom. 619 pp.
• Mansfeld, R., 1986. Verzeichnis landwirtschaflicher und gärtnerischer Kulturpflanzen (ohne Zierpflanzen) [Register of cultivated agricultural and horticultural plants (without ornamentals)]. Schultze-Motel, J. et al., editors 2nd edition, 4 volumes. Springer Verlag, Berlin, Germany. 1998 pp.
• Wealth of India (various editors), 1948-1976. A dictionary of Indian raw materials and industrial products: raw materials. 11 volumes. Publications and Information Directorate, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, India. 4441 pp.

Authors

• M.S.M. Sosef & L.J.G. van der Maesen