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butterfly pea

American  

noun

  1. any of several leguminous plants of the genus Clitoria, as C. mariana, of North America, having pale-blue flowers.


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.

She ran a small study on people who were pre-diabetic, and found that those who consumed tea made with butterfly pea flowers, showed better sugar control, than those that didn't.

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

To Lee, a simple pavlova’s snowy peaks of whipped sugar and egg white offer a blank canvas for dramatic splashes of red and blue, the latter of which Lee achieves with butterfly pea extract.

From Washington Post • Dec. 13, 2022

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

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