Maryland Butterfly-pea
Clitoria mariana
Native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 76%
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Dry to average
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Leaves
- Evergreen
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Bloom
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 6 West Virginia counties.
Who uses this plant?
5CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV
Genus host records with ranges including WV · Clitoria
- Cecropterus bathyllusSouthern Cloudywing
- Cecropterus lyciadesHoary Edge
- Epargyreus clarusSilver-Spotted Skipper
- Triclonella pergandeellaSweetclover Root Borer, Bush-Clover Triclonella
- Urbanus proteusLong-Tailed Skipper, Bean Leaf Roller
1BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Clitoria
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claimNo records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Fabaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 6a–9b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to alkaline
- Flower color
- Blue, pink, purple or white
What its natural habitat tells you
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Flower color · “Blue, pink, purple or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- Hardiness · “Zones 6a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Leaves · “Evergreen” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differ)
- Soil · “Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differ)
- Soil pH · “Acidic to alkaline” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Butterfly Pea; Maryland Butterfly pea; Pigeonwings; Spoon Flower
Conservation status
| West Virginia rank | S4 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| WV status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- NatureServe Explorer
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- West Virginia occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications