Photo botanica > Exotics plants
Tecomaria capensis
Tecomaria capensis (Thunb.) Spach
Cape Honeysuckle, West Indian Honeysuckle
Shrub about 3-8 m tall, with slender, woody stems, gray twigs, with
white lenticels, and a wide, dense crown, almost always covered with
showy flowers.
The leaves are pinnate, opposite, about 10-15 cm long, and consist of 5-9 oblong leaflets, green on both sides, smooth-textured and with a serrated edge.
The leaves are pinnate, opposite, about 10-15 cm long, and consist of 5-9 oblong leaflets, green on both sides, smooth-textured and with a serrated edge.
The flowers, strong red or orange, with a yellow center, are grouped in
small terminal clusters, about 12 cm long. They are bell-shaped, about 7
cm long, formed by 5 fused petals, which create a thin tube that curves
outward, and a corolla with five rounded lobes. The stamens develop next
to the upper lobe, but are curved towards the center to facilitate the
process of pollination by insects or small birds.
The fruits are thin legumes about 5 cm long, and when ripe they dry and
change to brown, opening on the sides to release their tiny seeds, thin,
light brown, and with thin, almost transparent wings at the ends, which
allow them to be carried by the wind.
The remains of the fruits remain attached to the twigs for some time.
It is a species native to South Africa, Swaziland and southern Mozambique, having spread as an ornamental in many gardens in Europe and other parts of the world.
The remains of the fruits remain attached to the twigs for some time.
It is a species native to South Africa, Swaziland and southern Mozambique, having spread as an ornamental in many gardens in Europe and other parts of the world.
