There is another variety with leaves of deep, purplish red and bronze, on which the markings are in a lighter shade.
OTHER COLORED FOLIAGE PLANTS
In [Chapter VIII] will be found described a number of other plants with colored foliage which are not, however, shrubs.
Chapter VI
FLOWERING VINES
Vines sprawling over rocks and banks, or climbing high over walls and trees to hang out floral banners, make up one of Hawaii’s most colorful and interesting floral chapters. While some vines are ever-blooming, most have seasons when they suddenly put on a display of color or of rare beauty, that become, often, the most conspicuous sight of the town. The vines are rather easy to identify on the whole, for there are only a few which resemble each other enough to be confusing.
YELLOW ALLAMANDA
Allamanda hendersonii Bulliard
Sprawling green vines, often used as a ground cover, with big yellow flowers every day in the year, are the Allamandas. They are one of the most widely used plants in Hawaii.
There are two yellow species commonly seen, the only essential difference being size. The one with large flowers, about five inches in diameter, is Allamanda hendersonii. Its leaves are smooth on both sides. The species with smaller blossoms, about three inches in diameter, is Allamanda cathartica. It may be identified, if not in bloom, by the fact that its leaves are somewhat hairy on the under side.
The bright yellow flowers grow in terminal clusters, two or three of the buds opening at one time. The buds are pointed, those of the large A. hendersonii being quite brownish in color and looking as if they had been varnished. This brown color blotches the back of the opened flowers. Blossoms are campanulate in form, the tube spreading out into five large, thick, velvety lobes. The throat of the tube in the large flower is also streaked with brown and there are whitish spots at the base of the petals. Flowers of these vines do not last when cut, unless the stem ends have the sticky juice coagulated by holding in very hot water.