Lophospermum scandens
| Lophospermum scandens | |
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| Plate from Curtis's Botanical Magazine (1839) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Plantaginaceae |
| Genus: | Lophospermum |
| Species: | L. scandens |
| Binomial name | |
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Lophospermum scandens D.Don |
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| Synonyms | |
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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 (4,600 and 7,900 ft) 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.
Lophospermum scandens has been confused with Lophospermum erubescens, partly because the earliest illustration of L. erubescens was labelled as L. scandens. Among other differences, L. scandens has a less climbing habit than L. erubescens, with few twining leaf stalks; also the sepals are narrower and joined at the base for 7–11 mm (0.3–0.4 in) rather than only 2–3 mm (0.08–0.12 in).
In horticulture it often appears under the genus names Maurandya and Asarina, although these genera are now regarded as distinct from Lophospermum. The true Maurandya scandens is a different species, with shorter flowers and smaller leaves without distinct marginal teeth.
Lophospermum scandens is a sprawling or climbing herbaceous perennial with fibrous roots. The long stems are branched, becoming woody at the base with age and developing a woody caudex – a swollen, bulb-like structure at the base of the stem. The leaf stalks (petioles) are 30–50 mm (1.2–2.0 in) long, occasionally twining to grasp supports, thus enabling the plant to climb. The leaves are narrowly heart-shaped, 30–110 mm (1.2–4.3 in) long by 16–54 mm (0.6–2.1 in) wide, with a pointed apex and toothed edges (dentate or crenate). The leaves and stems are sparsely covered with short hairs.
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