Butterfly Pea Vine By The Roadside

The shrubs below were seen by the roadside, just outside an old nursery that's not in operation anymore.

The condition of the plant was really good and its stems looked strong with lots of flowers and pods too. A man there told me that many strangers have stopped by and help themselves to the flowers.



This is one common sun-loving plant that can been seen growing in the wild as creepers and on fences as vines.



The Chinese call this plant 'kah yeang shu' (Cantonese) which means 'kaya tree' as its flowers are used as colouring to make blue glutinuous rice (a popular kuih) which is always served with kaya (coconut jam). Besides that, the flower has also been proven to contain a little calcium.



Clitoria Ternatea is the botanic name of this plant. The appearance of the flower has inspired some of its common names such as butterfly pea, Asian pigeonwings and clitoria.



The pods are edible too but only the tender ones are palatable.



The older pods can be used to feed livestock.



I learnt that the roots are bitter and have medicinal properties that can cure chronic bronchitis and remove phlegms. In fact many research studies have been done to identify the antidotal properties of this plant, that is useful for curing eye infections, skin diseases, urinary problems and ulcers.

So this is one plant that's not only useful in the kitchen but also serves as a herb plant as well!

Plant The Right Trees, MBPJ

I just found out that my mail to StarMetro Mail (The Star) was published on 4 September, both in the papers and online!



I wrote this letter after the tree infront of my house sheded almost all its leaves in mid-August. It was a shorter version of my mail but they really did a good job editing it and not missing the gist of my message. Thank you, StarMetro Mail Editor!

Though this only represents my point of view, I really wish that the city council (MBPJ) would really take note of the points I have made here.

Unfortunately, I have yet to receive any news or even a call from the MBPJ office... sigh. MBPJ, I look foward to seeing a more beautiful city in years to come!

Below is the full content my letter:

Plant The Right Trees, MBPJ

I was attracted to the story “MBPJ to make greening mandatory” in StarMetro. This is a great move towards greening the city. Now I wonder what type of trees they are going to plant and how they will be maintained.

I have a wild cinnamon tree in front of my house. This type of tree was planted in PJ SS23 neighbourhood by MBPJ some 10 years ago. The tree sheds leaves very often and I have to constantly sweep them up as they fall into my compound. MBPJ neither sweeps away the leaves nor prunes the trees regularly.

Recently, all the leaves turned brown and dropped off. Hence, I requested for MBPJ to cut off the dried branches. I was hoping that the tree would be healthy again after that, but it was not. Anyway, the tree looks dead now and I have no choice but to call MBPJ again to remove it entirely.

Although the tree was not pretty like the frangipani tree or pine, I will miss a little the shade it provided and the idea of losing some greenery in my immediate surroundings. On the plus side, now I don’t have to sweep fallen leaves anymore.

I hope that MBPJ will in future consider the aesthetic value of a tree before planting it.

On a separate note, I would like to commend MBPJ for crafting beautiful topiaries in some parts of Petaling Jaya. Perhaps one day we can become known as a “city of topiaries”, like the town of Railton in Tasmania, Australia.