Florida Museum of Natural History
 
 
Beaked Butterfly Pea
Centrosema  virginianum
 
Family name: Fabaceae or Leguminosae
 
Host plant for: Long-Tailed Skipper (Urbanus proteus)
 
General description: Delicate herbaceous perennial climbing or twining vine with leaves comprised of three narrow, elliptical leaflets, and large upturned purple to pinkish pea-like flowers with white centers. Showy flowers last less than one day. Grow in full sun to partial shade. Adaptable to many soil conditions. Propagate by seed. Can be trained to climb or used as a ground cover. Evergreen in southernmost counties.
 
Type: Perennial vine
Flower: Upturned purple to pinkish flowers with white center
Bloom time: Spring to fall, all year in southern counties
Soil type: Moist to dry, well-drained, sandy soils
Maximum height: Will cover small shrubs or climb to the tops of small trees
 
Candidate for home gardens: Showy, easy to grow plant
Availability in nursery: Not commercially available
Frenquency in the wild: Common
Habitat: coastal uplands, sandhills, pine flatwoods, hardwood forests, ruderal
 
County: Alachua, Baker, Bay, Bradford, Brevard, Broward, Calhoun, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Columbia, De Soto, Dixie, Duval, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Glades, Gulf, Hamilton, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Holmes, Indian River, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Lee, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Nassau, Okaloosa, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter, Suwannee, Union, Volusia, Wakulla, Walton
 
Centrostema virginianum









  Full sun               Part sun  
 
  Moderate watering