''Podranea ricasoliana'', called the pink trumpet vine, is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''

Podranea ''Podranea'' is a genus of one or two species of African flowering vines in the family Bignoniaceae. The native range of this genus is southern tropical Africa and southern Africa. It is found in Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also th ...

'', native to South Africa, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia. It has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

's Award of Garden Merit.

Description

The pink trumpet vine grows as an evergreen, vining shrub with woody and twining stems, lacking

tendril In botany, a tendril is a specialized stem, leaf or petiole with a threadlike shape used by climbing plants for support and attachment, as well as cellular invasion by parasitic plants such as '' Cuscuta''. There are many plants that have tend ...

s, that can reach a height of 5 m. The up to 25 cm long, opposite leaves are

imparipinnate Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and in ...

and composed of 5 to 13

ovate Ovate may refer to: * Ovate (egg-shaped) leaves, tepals, or other botanical parts *Ovate, a type of prehistoric stone hand axe *Ovates, one of three ranks of membership in the Welsh Gorsedd *Vates In modern English, the nouns vates () and ova ...

, lanceolate-ovate to broadly oblong-elliptic, pointed leaflets, 2-7 x 1-3 cm or somewhat larger on new shoots. The leaves are dark green, with a somewhat toothed margin, a cuneate base, often somewhat asymmetrical, and a short to long

acuminate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular ...

apex. Petiole is 0.8-1 cm long.

Inflorescence

The pink flowers have reddish stripes in the center, veined darker in the throat, are in terminal

panicles A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are o ...

, are bell-shaped, five-lobed (while slightly two-lipped), strongly fragrant and reach a size of up to 7.5 × 7.5 cm. The corolla tube has two long and two short stamens. The calyx is broad bell-shaped, light colored, 1.5-2 centimeters long, divided halfway with five pointed teeth. The corolla is 6-8 inches tall and wide with a spreading five-slip hem and is pale pink to yellow-white, with pinkish-red stripes and spots on the inside and widens bell-shaped from the narrow base. The fruits are up to 40 cm long, cylindrical capsules that open bivalvely at maturity, releasing numerous winged seeds.

Distribution

The home of the pink trumpet wine is in South Africa; there the species is endemic in the

Port St. Johns Port St. Johns (or Port Saint Johns) is a town of about 6,500 people on the Wild Coast in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated at the mouth of the Umzimvubu River, northeast of East London and east of Mthatha. Port St. Jo ...

area (between East London and

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

) at the mouth of the

Mzimvubu River Mzimvubu River or Umzimvubu River is one of the most important rivers in South Africa. It is located in the Eastern Cape Province. Course The river has its source in the northern region of the Eastern Cape, in the area of Matatiele and Mount Fle ...

(but there are also suspicions that the species originally came from East Africa). Today, it has been introduced in Morocco, Spain, the Canary Islands, Saint Helena, Hawaii, Bolivia, Central America, Mexico and many Caribbean islands.

Weed potential

The species is considered to be a weed in Australia, New Zealand, and Hawaii. Its vigorous habit and dense masses of foliage and branches tend to smother surrounding vegetation. The plant can withstand temperatures down to -5 °C.

Gallery

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2166505 Bignoniaceae Plants described in 1904 Garden plants of Africa Flora of South Africa Flora of Zambia Flora of Mozambique Flora of Malawi