Present on Pacific Islands?  no

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Clitoria cajanifolia (C. Presl) Benth.

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: leng jia die dou

English: laurel-leaf pigeonwings

Spanish: chocalho, generala, timbo

Habit:  shrub

Description: 

Genus:  "Trees, shrubs, lianas, or subshrubs to perennial herbs or vines; pubescence of minutely hooked trichomes common.  Leaves alternate, odd-pinnate, 3-foliolate, petiolate to subsessile or 1-foliolate, sessile; stipules and stipels persistent, striate, rarely caducous; petioles and rachis longitudinally striated, sometimes canaliculate; petiolules subquadrate, rugose.  Inflorescences axillary, terminal or cauliferous, bearing chasmogamous or infrequently cleistogamous flowers, 1-many-flowered; peduncles usually solitary or several-fascicled; pedicels paired at nodes; bracts striate, in 3 series below pedicels; bracteoles paired at calyx base, persistent, striate, usually appressed to calyx, rarely borne below on pedicels.  Chasmogamous flowers resupinate, showy, papilionaceous, pink, blue to violet, or white fading to pale yellow.  Calyx funnel-shaped, persistent in fruit, 5-lobed, upper 2 lobes subconnate, lowermost narrower, often longer.  Standard complicate, emarginate, short-clawed, spurless, veins dark-colored, converging in throat, abaxial surface pubescent.  Wings long-clawed, extending beyond the falcate-incurved, short-clawed keel.  Stamens 10, diadelphous, often persistent in fruit.  Pistil enclosed within staminal sheath; ovary stipitate; style geniculate, bearded longitudinally apically.  Cleistogamous flowers uncommon, inconspicuous unless with fruit; petals lacking or remnants hidden in calyx; calyx funnel-shaped, small, persistent in fruit, bracteolate, 5-lobed; pistil similar to that of chasmogamous flowers, but style bent abruptly back toward base, in contact with anthers.  Legume stipitate, linear, straight to subfalcate, thickened at sutures, valves flat or convex, weak to strongly depressed between seeds, ecostate or costate, beaked, spirally twisting upon dehiscence.  Seeds dark brown to black, smooth or viscid" (Berry et al., 1999; pp. 280-284).

Species:  Subshrub or perennial herb, aerial stems erect..  Leaves subsessile, 3-foliolate; leaflets 1-3 mm wide, petiole to 1.5 cm long, lower surface of leaflets pubescent.  Inflorescence 0.5-7 cm long; stem pubescence whitish; flowers pale bluish, lilac or lavender. Calyx 10-veined; fruits turgid, costate with medial longitudinal vein, 3.5-6 (-7) x 0.6-1.1 cm; stipe 7-12 (-14) cm long, enclosed within calyx; cleistogamy present (calyx 1-1.2 cm long); petiolules 2-5 mm long;   Calyx tube 11-15 mm long, 6-9 mm broad at throat, lobes 6-9 mm long; bracteoles 6-9 mm long; flowers 4-5.5 cm long; petioles 2-4 mm long. Seeds viscid. (adapted from Berry et al., 1999; pp. 280-284).

A perennial legume shrub to ca 1 m in height. "The leaves are pinnate (composed of three leaflets) and the flowers are purple to nearly white" (Csurhes & Edwards, 1998; p. 101).

Habitat/ecology:  In Venezuela, "Sandy soil in savannas and along riverbanks, near sea level to 1300 m" (Berry et al., 1999; pp. 280-284).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  West Indies, Venezuela, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Brazil; introduced and establishe in eastern Africa and southeastern Asia (Berry et al., 1999; pp. 280-284).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Adventice

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	introduced invasive	Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. (1998) (p. 101) Isolated populations.
China China	China (People's Republic of)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
Colombia Colombia	Colombia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011) Java
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced invasive	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 27) Naturalised
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	United States (other states)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)

Comments:  "Small isolated populations in the Cardwell area of coastal, north Queensland (Hacker 1990). Humphries and Stanton (1992) report a 3 ha infestation of numerous scattered thickets of mature shrubs surrounded by seedlings in the understorey of a Melaleuca wetland in the Kennedy National Park. Subsequent control work revealed additional infestations" (Csurhes & Edwards, 1998; p. 101).

Additional information:
Additional online information about Clitoria laurifolia is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Clitoria laurifolia as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Clitoria laurifolia may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Berry, Paul E./Holst, Bruce K./ Yatskievych, Kay. 1999. Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana, vol. 5: Eriocaulaceae-Lentibulariaceae. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis. .

Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. 2009. A checklist of the total vascular plant flora of Singapore: native, naturalised and cultivated species. Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore. 273 pp.

Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. 1998. Potential environmental weeds in Australia: Candidate species for preventative control. Canberra, Australia. Biodiversity Group, Environment Australia. 208 pp.

Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. 2011. Base de données botaniques Nadeaud de l'Herbier de la Polynésie Française (PAP). (online resource).

Humphries, S. E./Stanton, J. P. 1992. Weed assessment in the wet tropics world heritage area of north Queensland. Report to The Wet Tropics Management Agency. 75 pp. plus plates.

ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre. 2011. International Legume Database & Information Service. Online searchable database.

U. S. Government. 2011. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).