Butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea): A nutritive multipurpose forage legume for the tropics - An over view

Abstract: Butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea) is a multi-purpose forage legume. It provides bioactive compounds for medicinal use and it is also an ornamental plant and cover crop. It is adaptable to a wide range of temperature, rainfall and altitude. Butterfly pea, a highly palatable forage legume is generally preferred by livestock over other legumes. It has thin stem and large leaves, nil bloat and non toxic which make it ideal for forage and hay making. It’s vigorous growth, tolerance to frost and dry periods and heavy grazing pressures make this suitable for waste land development. Production and utilization of this legume for animal production will provide adequate nutrition and also reduce grazing pressure on natural ranges. This paper reviews distribution, plant description, agronomic characteristics, genetic variation, medicinal use, chemical composition and utilization of butterfly pea in livestock production. Key words: Clitoria ternatea, bioactive compound, forage legume, ornamental valu