- Dazzling hue - (1)
“Blue thou art, intensely blue; Flower, whence came thy dazzling hue?” – James Montgomery
Feijão Borboleta/ Blue butterfly pea flower, is a plant belonging to the bean and pea family. Originally from regions of Tropical Asia, but currently it can be found in several regions of South and Central America, India, China and Southeast Asia.
A striking feature of butterfly bean flowers is their color, an intense blue that makes the flower very striking, but in some cultivars, the flower can be completely white.
It is a perennial vine and can be grown in small pots as an ornamental plant, developing quickly and flowering most of the time of its life.
In folk medicine, butterfly beans have been used to treat throat and eye infections, fever, indigestion, baldness, stress, strengthening memory, among other applications. Rich in phytochemicals, the infusion of flowers is hepatoprotective and antidiabetic and the juice is used in Ayurvedic medicine to cure insect bites and skin diseases.
In the kitchen, the plant also has numerous applications, the leaves, pods and flowers being the parts used in the butterfly bean. However, the flower is the most used part, being used in the preparation of various blue foods, such as refreshments, teas, soups, ice cream, rice, among others.
- Dazzling hue - (1)
“Blue thou art, intensely blue; Flower, whence came thy dazzling hue?” – James Montgomery
Feijão Borboleta/ Blue butterfly pea flower, is a plant belonging to the bean and pea family. Originally from regions of Tropical Asia, but currently it can be found in several regions of South and Central America, India, China and Southeast Asia.
A striking feature of butterfly bean flowers is their color, an intense blue that makes the flower very striking, but in some cultivars, the flower can be completely white.
It is a perennial vine and can be grown in small pots as an ornamental plant, developing quickly and flowering most of the time of its life.
In folk medicine, butterfly beans have been used to treat throat and eye infections, fever, indigestion, baldness, stress, strengthening memory, among other applications. Rich in phytochemicals, the infusion of flowers is hepatoprotective and antidiabetic and the juice is used in Ayurvedic medicine to cure insect bites and skin diseases.
In the kitchen, the plant also has numerous applications, the leaves, pods and flowers being the parts used in the butterfly bean. However, the flower is the most used part, being used in the preparation of various blue foods, such as refreshments, teas, soups, ice cream, rice, among others.