Cobaea scandens | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Ericales |
Family: | Polemoniaceae |
Genus: | Cobaea |
Species: | C. scandens |
Binomial name | |
Cobaea scandens | |
Cobaea scandens, the cup-and-saucer vine , cathedral bells, Mexican ivy, or monastery bells, is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family Polemoniaceae. It is native to Mexico, with isolated sightings elsewhere in tropical central and South America.
It is a self-clinging perennial climber. The Latin specific epithet scandens means 'climbing'. [1] The 4 in (10 cm) leaves comprise four leaflets and a tendril furnished with small hooks for clinging on to a support. The large forward-facing violet flowers, which are pollinated by bats in their native habitat, are bell-shaped with a pronounced ruff – hence the name cup-and-saucer. Mature flowers are scented. Present a capsular fruits with seeds. [2]
It is widely cultivated for its twining habit and its highly ornamental flowers, 5 cm (2 in) long, which change from white to purple. In temperate regions it is best grown as a half-hardy annual, sown in heat under glass in early spring, and planted out after all danger of frost is past. [2] [3] It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit [4] (confirmed 2017). [5] A white form exists, C. scandens f. alba. [6]
Charles Darwin in 1875 made a detailed study of various climbing and twining plants, subjecting them to stimuli such as light and touch, and presenting them with a range of surfaces while minutely examining their movement over time. He was impressed by the exceptional strength and speed of Cobaea scandens: [7]
This is an excellently constructed climber. The tendrils on a fine plant were eleven inches long, with the petiole bearing two pairs of leaflets, only two and a half inches in length. They revolve more rapidly and vigorously than those of any other tendril-bearer observed by me, with the exception of one kind of Passiflora.
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The long, straight, tapering main stem of the tendril of the Cobaea bears alternate branches; and each branch is several times divided, with the finer branches as thin as very thin bristles and extremely flexible, so that they are blown about by a breath of air; yet they are strong and highly elastic. The extremity of each branch is a little flattened, and terminates in a minute double (though sometimes single) hook, formed of a hard, translucent, woody substance, and as sharp as the finest needle. On a tendril which was eleven inches long I counted ninety-four of these beautifully constructed little hooks. They readily catch soft wood, or gloves, or the skin of the naked hand. With the exception of these hardened hooks, and of the basal part of the central stem, every part of every branchlet is highly sensitive on all sides to a slight touch, and bends in a few minutes towards the touched side. By lightly rubbing several sub-branches on opposite sides, the whole tendril rapidly assumed an extraordinarily crooked shape. These movements from contact do not interfere with the ordinary revolving movement. The branches, after becoming greatly curved from being touched, straighten themselves at a quicker rate than in almost any other tendril seen by me, namely, in between half an hour and an hour.
A vine is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent stems, lianas, or runners. The word vine can also refer to such stems or runners themselves, for instance, when used in wicker work.
Sophora microphylla, commonly known as weeping kōwhai and small-leaved kōwhai, is a species of flowering tree in the family Fabaceae native to New Zealand. It is the most widespread of the eight species of kōwhai. It is also called South Island kōwhai, although this name is misleading as it is widely distributed throughout the main islands of the country.
Hibiscus syriacus is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is native to south-central and southeast China, but widely introduced elsewhere, including much of Asia, both in the east and the west. It was given the epithet syriacus because it had been collected from gardens in Syria. Common names include the rose of Sharon,, Syrian ketmia, shrub althea, and rose mallow. It is the national flower of South Korea and is mentioned in the South Korean national anthem.
Dicentra, known as bleeding-hearts, is a genus of eight species of herbaceous plants with oddly shaped flowers and finely divided leaves, native to eastern Asia and North America.
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Erica cinerea, the bell heather, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae, native to western and central Europe.
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Cornus alba, the red-barked, white or Siberian dogwood, is a species of flowering plant in the family Cornaceae, native to Siberia, northern China and Korea. It is a large deciduous surculose (suckering) shrub that can be grown as a small tree. As a popular ornamental used in landscaping its notable features include the red stems in fall (autumn) through late winter, bright winter bark; and the variegated foliage in some cultivars, such as C. alba 'Elegantissima'. C. alba can grow to 3 m (10 ft) high, but variegated forms are less vigorous. For the brightest winter bark, young shoots are encouraged by cutting to the ground some older stems at the end of the winter, before leaves are open. The oval fruits are white, sometimes tinted blue.
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Hibbertia scandens, sometimes known by the common names snake vine, climbing guinea flower and golden guinea vine, is a species of flowering plant in the family Dilleniaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is climber or scrambler with lance-shaped or egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, and yellow flowers with more than thirty stamens arranged around between three and seven glabrous carpels.
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Cobaea is a genus of flowering plants including about 20 species of rapid growing, ornamental climbers whose native range extends from Mexico to Peru. The botanical name honors Father Bernabé Cobo, Spanish Jesuit of the seventeenth century, naturalist, and resident of America for many years. The woody stems can reach 20 ft (6 m). Leaves are alternate lobed with opposite pairs and tendrils. In late summer to early spring, the large, bell-shaped flowers are borne profusely and singly along the stems with bright green, violet, or purple in colors. The plants can become invasive in some areas, and are common weeds in New Zealand.
Parthenocissus henryana is a species of flowering plant in the vine family Vitaceae, native to China.
Sorbus reducta, the dwarf Chinese mountain ash, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rosaceae, native to western China (South West Sichuan and North West Yunnan}. Growing to 1.5 m tall by 2 m wide, it is a dense deciduous spreading shrub. Each leaf, 10 cm long, has up to 15 leaflets which turn to brilliant shades of red in the autumn. White flowers in spring are followed by red or pink, and then white berries in autumn.
Cobaea pringlei is a species of flowering perennial plant of the Polemoniaceae family, native to Mexico. It has a climbing habit, clinging by coiling leaf tendrils like other species of the genus. In cultivation it can reach 5–7 m (16–23 ft). The flowers are creamy-white, funnel-shaped, and borne on long stalks. The stamens and style project from the mouth of the flower.
Lophospermum erubescens, known as Mexican twist or creeping gloxinia, is a climbing or sprawling herbaceous perennial plant, native to the Sierra Madre Oriental mountains of Mexico, where it is found along forest margins or canyon walls. It climbs by means of twining leaf stalks. Wild plants have pink and white tubular flowers, although other colours are found in cultivation. It has been cultivated as an ornamental plant since at least 1830. Although not frost-hardy, it will survive if its base and roots are protected from freezing in the winter. It has escaped from cultivation and become naturalized in tropical and subtropical areas of the world.
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 1,400 and 2,400 m in dry habitats, including deciduous oak forests and recent lava flows. The long-tubed flowers are pollinated by hummingbirds. It has been used in gardens as an ornamental plant since the mid-19th century. Its roots require protection from frost in regions where this occurs in the winter. Hybrids of L. scandens are also grown.