butterfly pea
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of butterfly pea
An Americanism dating back to 1855–60
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They have experimented with juice from jagua, a fruit found in Central and South America, and petals from the butterfly pea flower in Southeast Asia.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
Pushpal Biswas owns a small farm in west Bengal, and was introduced to butterfly pea by Blue Tea.
From BBC ● Jan. 5, 2026
Last week, the FDA approved three natural color additives — calcium phosphate, Galdieria extract blue and butterfly pea flower extract — to replace them.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2025
The ice cream, with butterfly pea coconut milk and Thai milk tea favours, was modelled after the blue ceramic plates and flower details of the pagoda, said ice cream maker Pop Icon.
From Reuters ● Jul. 12, 2023
Several members of the tropic-loving genus, that produce large, highly colored flowers, have been introduced to American hothouses; but the blue butterfly pea is our only native representative.
From Wild Flowers An Aid to Knowledge of Our Wild Flowers and Their Insect Visitors by Blanchan, Neltje
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
