''Maurandya scandens'', also known as trailing snapdragon and snapdragon vine, is a climbing

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

perennial native to Mexico, with snapdragon-like flowers and untoothed leaves. It is grown as an ornamental plant in many parts of the world, and has commonly escaped from cultivation to become naturalized. Other names for this plant include creeping snapdragon, vining snapdragon, creeping gloxinia and chickabiddy.

Description

The perennial plant grows up to 2-3 meters tall or long. The alternate, lanceolate to arrow-shaped, entire and lobed to coarsely toothed, pointed, on the lobes, teeth often fine-pointed leaves sit on 8 to 42 millimeters long petioles. The bare leaf blades are 11 to 62 long and 4 to 45 millimeters wide. The shoot axes often form adventitious roots. It has been confused with ''

Lophospermum scandens ''Lophospermum scandens'' is a scambling or climbing herbaceous perennial native to south central Mexico, with red-violet and white tubular flowers and toothed heart-shaped leaves. It grows at elevations between in dry habitats, including deci ...

'', which has longer flowers and larger, toothed leaves. It resembles ''

Maurandya barclayana ''Maurandya barclayana'' (syn. ''Asarina barclayana''; orth. var. ''M. barclaiana''), commonly called angels trumpet or Mexican viper, is an ornamental plant in the family Plantaginaceae native to Mexico. This plant is cited in ''The movements ...

'', which has blue-violet flowers and hairy rather than hairless sepals. It is semi-deciduous in the colder areas.

Flowers and reproduction

The

hermaphrodite In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes. Many Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrate ...

, tubular flowers appear axillary and solitary, and come in many different colours including

rose pink Rose pink is a reddish purple color. The first recorded use of ''rose pink'' as a color name in English was in 1760.Maerz and Paul ''A Dictionary of Color'' New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 203 References

{{color-stub ...

, violet, indigo blue or white, with double perianth. The fivefold flowers feature a wide throat on long, glabrous

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

s, 30 to 85 millimeters long. The small, ovate-lanceolate and just overgrown tips of the

calyx Calyx or calyce (plural "calyces"), from the Latin ''calix'' which itself comes from the Ancient Greek ''κάλυξ'' (''kálux'') meaning "husk" or "pod", may refer to: Biology * Calyx (anatomy), collective name for several cup-like structures ...

are 10 to 15 millimeters long. They are 2 to 4 millimeters wide at the base and they are bare to sparsely covered with glandular hairs. The crown, slightly hairy on the outside, with shorter, rounded to indented, expansive lobes has two lips. The 4 short, dynamic

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s are included. The superior, two-chambered

ovary The ovary is an organ in the female reproductive system that produces an ovum. When released, this travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it may become fertilized by a sperm. There is an ovary () found on each side of the body. ...

is usually bald and the bald, enclosed, relatively short style is 13 to 16 millimeters long. It flowers profusely between spring and summer, and irregularly in the cool months. The asymmetrical, irregularly ovoid and many-seeded, cartilaginous seed capsules are 10 to 12 millimeters long and are divided into slightly unequal subjects.

Range

The original distribution area are rocky slopes,

canyon A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...

s and disturbed areas in tropical and subtropical forests in southern Mexico at 1200 to 2200 meters above sea level. The species prefers a medium-humid (mesic) biotope. It seems to have established its habitat from the north along the calcareous Sierra Madre and south into the volcanic belt. Due to human displacement, occurrences are now found worldwide.

Cultivation

Cultivars include ''Joan Lorraine'' with velvety purple flowers, ''Snow White'' with white flowers and ''Mystic Rose'' with fuchsia flowers.Asarina scandens 'Mystic Rose'
Sarah Raven

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15339909 Plantaginaceae Taxa named by Antonio José Cavanilles Flora of Mexico Ornamental plants Vines Plants described in 1806 Plants that can bloom all year round