In Hawaii, the vine is a perennial, grown from seeds. Its strong shoots spread rampantly during the summer month, climbing high into trees or covering buildings and fences. The leaf is divided into seven pointed lobes. The flowers first appear in autumn. They are yellow, small, rather inconspicuous and tubular, like the small yellow morning-glory which they really are. After they fall, the calyx begins to develop until it has enlarged into what looks like an immense pointed, cream-colored bud. As this begins to dry, it opens, showing the enlarged seed case. In a few days, the “wood rose” is stiff and brown. About three months are required from the time the blossom appears until the seed pod is ready to cut. These pods may be used as a long-lived decoration; and, since the flowers grow at intervals along the shoot in the leaf axils, graceful lengths of stem with many roses can be used for flower arrangements.
The vine grows generally throughout the tropics but is sometimes called Ceylon Morning-glory. ([Plate XI])
CAT’S CLAW VINE. HUG-ME-TIGHT
Bignonia unguis-cati Linnaeus
The three-pointed, claw-like tendrils by which this vine clings closely to trees, or walls, have given it the two names by which it is commonly known. But it will be readily recognized and remembered from the cloth of gold it flings several times a year over everything it covers. Individual flowers are trumpet shaped, with five spreading lobes, about two inches across. The color is a clear, canary yellow. ([Plate XII])
The leaves are compound, the paired leaflets being pointed and narrow. The plant is a native of tropical America where it is related to some of the giant lianas that creep through the Brazilian jungle. Its most conspicuous relative in Honolulu is the Firecracker vine, Bignonia venusta, illustrated on [Plate XI].
GALPHIMIA VINE
Tristellateia australis A. Richard
This yellow flowering vine is rather rare as yet in Honolulu, but is bound to grow in popularity as its attractive flowers and leaves become known. The color of the leaves is a light yellow-green. They are opposite, smooth, thick and waxen, with a tendency to fold along the mid-rib.
The flowers appear on pendant end-shoots, in long clusters. They have five, pale, yellow petals and in the center a group of short, red stamens. Probably this vine can be most readily identified by this touch of red in the middle of the yellow blossom. It belongs to the Malpighia family and hence is a cousin of the popular Galphimia shrub. It is a native of Australasia. ([Plate XII])
GIANT POTATO VINE
Solanum wendlandii Hooker
Delicate, pale, periwinkle-blue flowers appear in large, loose, clusters in early summer and again in autumn on the Giant Potato vine. The petals of the flowers are not separate, but are connected, curving outward slightly, making the flower almost pentagonal in outline. The mid-rib of each petal is of slightly different texture and lighter color than the rest of the corolla. In the center of the flower is a group of thick stamens forming a low column.