The Wonders of the Blue Flower
Blue ternate (Clitoria ternatea) is a multi-purpose forage legumes, grown as ornamental plant and as a cover crop. It provides bioactive compounds for medicinal uses and has been widely distributed to many tropical and sub-tropical countries. Blue ternate is also commonly known as Asian Pigeonwings, Butterfly Pea, Blue Pea which is native in tropical equatorial Asia.
It belongs to the family Fabaceae, a long lived perennial herbaceous climbing plant with soft, short hair on the stem, and vivid deep blue flower. The flower of this herb was imagined to have a shape of the human female genitals but it has dark but bright blue color, thus the scientific name, Clitoria ternatea.Over the years, uses and benefits of this plant herb were discovered. In Southeast Asia, it is widely used as an ingredient in herbal tea and used in cooking. The roots, seeds and flower have medicinal value and were used as treatment to some diseases such as diabetes and asthma. The most used part of this plant is the flower. The flowers are used as dyes, e.g. to add color to various food like rice. The blue flower produces its blue color when steeped in hot or warm water. The flower is also used to prevent hair loss and graying of hair, improve blood circulation, cleanse the blood, improve vision, and revitalize skin and hair. It is also believed to be a natural anti-oxidant, anti-cancer, anti-tumor, and anti-depression.
Here is some easy step to create your own Blue ternate tea:
1. Simply steep 10 flowers, fresh or dried, in a cup of hot water, let sit 15 minutes.
2. When there is no color left in the petal, strain the liquid and discard the flowers. You will be left with an amazing deep blue colored tea.
3. You can put lemon or honey if you want to add flavor. When you put lemon, the color will turn from deep blue to purple. The color will change when the pH balance changes. Deeper shade of purple, more lemon juice must be added.
To plant your own blue ternate, the seeds should be grazed, then soaked overnight in room temperature water before planting. They can be sown directly in the garden with 3-4 inch spacing. Germination takes 15-20 days. They prefer to be grown in full sun but they will tolerate light shade. This plant is very drought tolerant but they should be watered regularly for best result.
Center for Bayanihan Economics (CBE) grows Blue ternate in its urban garden. CBE is now making blue rice, with the use of the color pigment of the Blue ternate flower, which they serve to their guests, and selling fresh Blue ternate flowers. They are also on process making dried blue ternate, blue ternate tea, and shake.
