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Callaeum macropterum |
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| | Big chartreuse immature seed pods |
| Synonym(s) |
Mascagnia macroptera |
| Common name |
butterfly vine; orchid vine |
| Family |
malpighiaceae |
| Life cycle |
perennial (Z8-10) |
| Flowers |
yellow (late spring-fall) |
| Size |
vine to 15' |
| Light |
sun-part shade |
| Cultural notes |
well drained soil; drought-tolerant |
Cheerful yellow flowers on a tough vine give way to butterfly-shaped seedpods. May stay evergreen in mild winters, and should be root hardy through zone 8. Native from Mexico through northern South America.
We planted ours in mid-fall, and watched it grow tentatively through the following spring, producing a few blooms. By summer, it started sprinting, climbing the fence and neighboring plants, with lots of flowers. But we didn't see the "butterfly" pods until early autumn. I'm not sure if that's typical, or if the right pollinator just didn't come along earlier in the year.
In the following years, it grew ever stronger, eventually claiming a substantial part of the back fence, as well as any tree and shrub daring to live to close by.
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| | Starting to colonize Green Man |
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| | Not yet blooming in mid-April, but nicely covering the fence |
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In our garden, this plant grows in the following area: back fence border About my plant portraits
PlantLinks to other web pages about Callaeum macropterum
Visitors to this page have left the following comments| Ashley | May 05, 2021 | Is this poisonous/toxic to animals? I have rabbits so they might eat the leaves/seeds that fall on the ground. Wondering if that's okay. TIA
I generally don't know about toxicity of the plants I grow, besides the obviously edible and notoriously poisonous ones. Perhaps somebody else will stop by with an answer. |
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