The flower most famously compared to a vulva is the butterfly pea, scientifically named *Clitoria ternatea*. Its deep blue petals unfold around a central fold and opening that so closely resembles female genitalia that the 18th-century botanist Carl Linnaeus named the entire genus *Clitoria* after the clitoris. Several orchid species share this resemblance too, and in some cases the similarity is not just a visual coincidence but an evolutionary strategy.
Butterfly Pea: The Flower Named for the Resemblance
The butterfly pea is a tropical vine that produces striking blue or violet flowers about 3 to 5 centimeters across. Each bloom has a large, fan-shaped upper petal (called the standard) that curls back to reveal a pair of smaller inner petals forming a hooded, cleft structure in the center. The overall shape, with its layered folds and enclosed opening, closely mirrors the labia and clitoral hood of the human vulva.
Linnaeus clearly saw the resemblance. When he formally described the genus in 1753, he chose the name *Clitoria*, making it one of the most anatomically blunt names in all of botany. The species name *ternatea* is less provocative: it refers to the island of Ternate in the Indonesian archipelago, where the specimens Linnaeus studied were collected. The genus remains accepted today under the same name, with 65 recognized species listed by the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew.
The butterfly pea is native to tropical Asia but is now grown across warm regions worldwide. Beyond its appearance, it’s widely used as a natural food coloring and in herbal teas. The petals are rich in plant pigments that produce a vivid blue color in water, which shifts to purple or pink when you add something acidic like lemon juice.
Orchids and the “Lip” Petal
Orchids are the other major group of flowers that people compare to vulvar anatomy, and the resemblance is no accident. Most orchid flowers have a specialized lower petal called the labellum, or “lip.” This modified petal is often much larger than the other petals, irregularly shaped, ruffled, and marked with contrasting colors or ridges. In many species, the labellum forms a deep pouch or slit-like opening that bears a striking resemblance to female genitalia.
The slipper orchids (genus *Paphiopedilum*), commonly called Venus’s slipper or lady’s slipper orchids, are among the most recognizable examples. Their labellum forms a deep, shoe-shaped pouch with a smooth interior and a narrow opening at the top. The pouch functions as a trap: insects crawl in and must pass by the reproductive structures to escape, picking up or depositing pollen in the process. These orchids are popular houseplants, with individual blooms lasting anywhere from 26 to 62 days depending on the species.
Cattleya orchids take a slightly different approach. Their labellum is large, ruffled at the edges, and often a different color from the rest of the flower, typically in deep pinks, magentas, or purples. The lip curls inward to form a tubular opening. The visual parallel to labia is hard to miss, and it’s a big reason why cattleyas became one of the most popular corsage flowers of the 20th century.
Why Some Flowers Mimic Genitalia
For many flowers, a vulva-like shape is simply a useful funnel that guides pollinators toward the reproductive parts of the plant. But some orchids have taken this much further through a strategy called pseudocopulation, where the flower actively tricks male insects into attempting to mate with it.
In these species, the labellum mimics not just the general appearance but also the texture and even the pheromones of a female insect. A male lands on the flower, mistakes it for a potential mate, and attempts to copulate. As it does, it contacts the orchid’s pollen structures. Research on the orchid *Lepanthes glicensteinii* documented this process in remarkable detail: male fungus gnats were observed achieving actual genitalic coupling with the flower’s labellum, and pollen transfer only happened during the pivoting motion the insect makes as part of its normal mating sequence. The flies even appeared to ejaculate during the encounter.
The initial lure for these orchids is chemical. The flower releases scent compounds that mimic the sex pheromones of the pollinator’s females, drawing males from a distance. Once the insect arrives, the shape, texture, and coloring of the labellum provide the visual and tactile cues that keep the deception going long enough for pollination to occur.
Other Flowers With Similar Shapes
A few other plants get mentioned in this conversation, though they’re less well known. The hot lips plant (*Psychotria elata*) produces bright red bracts that look like a pair of full, parted lips before the small white flowers emerge from between them. Some species of *Aristolochia* (Dutchman’s pipe) have deep, tubular flowers with flared openings that resemble a range of body parts depending on the species and the viewer.
Georgia O’Keeffe’s paintings famously played on the resemblance between flowers and the vulva, though O’Keeffe herself pushed back on that reading of her work. Still, the visual parallel she highlighted applies broadly: many flowers with layered petals, central folds, and deep openings evoke the comparison. Irises, calla lilies, and tulips all get mentioned in this context, though the resemblance is more abstract than what you see in a butterfly pea or slipper orchid.
Growing Butterfly Pea at Home
If you want to grow the flower most directly associated with this resemblance, butterfly pea is surprisingly easy to cultivate. It’s a vigorous climbing vine that needs full sun (at least six hours of direct light per day) and well-drained soil. It’s tolerant of a wide range of soil types, from sand to heavy clay, and handles both acidic and alkaline conditions without complaint.
The catch is temperature. Butterfly pea is hardy only in USDA zones 10 through 12, meaning it needs year-round warmth and won’t survive frost. In cooler climates, you can grow it as an annual or in a container that comes indoors for winter. The vine produces flowers prolifically through the warm months, and the blooms can be harvested fresh for tea or dried for later use. Seeds are easy to collect and germinate readily, so even a single season can give you plenty of material to work with.