Lace-like masses of small, bright-pink flowers clambering by curling tendrils over weeds, rocks or trees, announce the Mexican creeper. Sometimes the white variety is seen and there are also pale pink hybrids. In its native Latin America, this plant is called Cadena del Amor, or Chain of Love, since the flowers suggest a string of small pink hearts. The Mexicans have also given it other sentimental names such as Rosa de Montana, Corallita and San Miguelito.
The flower chains branch in a rather angular way giving an effect that is peculiarly picturesque. They lend themselves to flower arrangements of special charm. For this purpose the white variety is often more useful than the bright pink, since it blends better with the average interior color scheme. The only drawback is that the flowers fall rather quickly, but they are worth arranging even for a short time.
The leaves are heart-shaped with wavy margins. There are no petals, the colored portion of the flower being the calyx, with five petal-like sepals. The seeds form and remain inside the dried calyx. The plant belongs to the buckwheat family. ([Plate XII])
[Plate XIII]
FLOWERING VINES—CHAPTER VI
Identification key (1) Bleeding Heart (2) Kuhio Vine (3) Porana (4) Crimson Lake Bougainvillea (5) White Thunbergia (6) Wax Vine (7) Beaumontia (8) Blue Butterfly Pea
[Plate XIV]
GINGER BLOSSOMS—CHAPTER VII