Plant 24 Thunbergia grandiflora

Blue Trumpet Vine

Description:

Younger stems are green, hairy (pubescent), and square in cross-section (quadrangular). The older climbing stems are quite thick when mature, and they usually turn brown in colour and become somewhat rounded in shape. The fruit is a capsule with a rounded (spherical) base (about 18 mm long and 13 mm across) and a long tapered beak (2-5 cm long and about 7 mm wide). These fruits are only produced in the warmer climates. The large, flattened (compressed), seeds (up to 10 mm across) are smooth on one side and warty on the other side. Seeds (5-10mm wide) contained in seedpods.

Habitat: It grows along creeks and estuaries, in beach forest, landward edge of mangrove forests, and tidal swamps.

Associated Fauna: Its flowers are frequently visited by bees, butterflies, as well as sunbirds. It is also the food plant for the caterpillars of the butterfly, the brown awl (Badamia exclamationis).

Cultivation: It can be propagated by seed or stem cuttings.

Ethnobotanical Uses: None