The leaves usually appear in fours, forming a cross or whorl where they join the stem. They are a pointed oval in form, thick, smooth and rather light green.
These plants are natives of Guiana and members of the Periwinkle family. There is a fine planting at Vancouver drive and Hunnewell street. ([Plate XI])
PINK ALLAMANDA
Allamanda blachetti A. De Candolle
The rose-colored member of the Allamanda group in Hawaii is not so often found as the yellow. The flowers are about the size of the large yellow and in color a deep rose, or almost maroon, with the throat a deeper shade.
The leaves of this species, while they display the whorled growth of the yellow, are smaller and very rough and hairy on both sides.
The vine comes from Brazil. ([Plate XI])
BABY MORNING GLORY
Jacquemontia pentantha G. Don
(Convolvulus mauritanicus)
Flowers like miniature blue morning-glories, about an inch across, grow on this slender vine. It is charming because of its petite size, and for the beautiful color of the flowers. They have a lighter throat, and white stamens. The buds appear in clusters at the end of the flower stem and one or two flowers open each morning, closing in the afternoon. The leaves are slightly heart-shaped, ending in a sharp point. The stems are reddish. The Jacquemontia, which is a native of tropical America, was named after a French botanist, Victor Jacquemont. Formerly it was called Convolvulus mauritanicus. ([Plate XI])
ORANGE TRUMPET VINE. FIRECRACKER VINE. HUAPALA
Bignonia venusta Ker
One of the most spectacular events in Hawaii’s colorful floral calendar, is the blooming of the Firecracker vine. In late winter, walls of green foliage turn suddenly into a sheet of flaming orange, the masses of flowers seeming like small tongues of fire blazing over the entire vine.