''Combretum fruticosum'', known as orange flame vine or chameleon vine, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of bushwillow that occurs from

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

to northern

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Description

The orange flame vine is a liana that reaches up to in height without a support and up to with a support. The branches are cylindrical and striated. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are persistent to semipersistent, dense and dry. They are simple, opposite, sometimes alternate, 6 to 16 cm long and 3 to 8 cm broad, with an entire margin and a short petiole. The

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s appear in summer and are yellowish to reddish, small, grouped in axillar

spikes The SPIKES protocol is a method used in clinical medicine to break bad news to patients and families. As receiving bad news can cause distress and anxiety, clinicians need to deliver the news carefully. Using the SPIKES method for introducing and ...

8 to 16 cm long. The calyx is bell-shaped with 4 lobules 5 mm long, the corolla has 4 very small petals 1 to 1.5 mm long. The 8

stamens The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filamen ...

are 3 cm long and have reddish anthers. The number of flowers varies from 52 to 93 in each inflorescence. The fruit forms in autumn and is dry and

indehiscent Dehiscence is the splitting of a mature plant structure along a built-in line of weakness to release its contents. This is common among fruits, anthers and sporangia. Sometimes this involves the complete detachment of a part. Structures that ...

, 2 cm long, and reddish brown.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q8460510 fruticosum Medicinal plants Vines