Aparijita – अपराजिता
➢ It is a twinning herb. The stem is slender, covered in soft hairs.
➢ The leaves are alternate and imparipinnately compound. Each leaf
has five to seven leaflets. The leaflets are arranged opposite in pairs,
with a single one at the terminal. They are elliptic to oblong in shape
with an obtuse apex and an entire margin.
➢ The beautiful flowers are borne singly in the axils of the leaves.
They are brightly colored and vary from white to dark blue to violet.
They are surrounded with bracts and the sepals are fused into a tube.
The petals are of different shape and sizes, a standard ovate petal
that is veined, oblong wings and incurved keels.
➢ Fruit is a green, linear-oblong, flattened, sharply beaked pod, with
six to ten seeds.
BOTANICAL NAME
Clitoria ternatea L
FAMILY
Fabaceae
FLOWERING
July – January
FRUITING
July – January
PROPAGATION
It can be propagated by seeds
PLANT PART USED
Whole Plant
COMMON NAMES:
Butterfly Pea; Hindi: Aparajita, Khagtu; Marathi:
Gokurna, Shankha Pushpa, Vishnukranta; Kannada: Sattaga, Girikarnike,
Kanthi; Malayalam: Sangu Pushpam; Sanskrit: Adrikarni, Aparajita,
Girikarnika, Ghrstih, Radha; Tamil: Kannikkodi; Telugu: Sakha
Pushpam.
USES
✓ The plant is an ornamental climber and grown on hedges, pergolas,
fences or arches in a garden or park.
✓ It also attracts bees and butterflies.
✓ The flowers are used to extract a dark blue edible dye.
✓ An herbal tea can be prepared by boiling the fresh petals with water.
The tea is said to be a mood enhancer.
✓ A mixture of flower and milk is said to reduce body heat.
✓ The roots are traditionally used to treat abdominal swelling, chronic
bronchitis, sore throats, congestion and mucus disorders.
✓ Leaves are used to treat fevers, ulcers, scanty urine and inflammation
of urinary tract.
✓ Seeds are given to children as laxatives.
✓ Roots of the plant are used for treating leukoderma.
✓ It is used in children for treating bed wetting.
✓ Paste of the whole plant is effectively used for treating piles.
✓ It also increases blood circulation in the head and therefore maintain
a healthy scalp.
