Tropaeolum speciosum
Common name
Chilean flame creeper
Family
Tropaeolaceae
Flora category
Vascular – Exotic
Structural class
Lianes & Related Trailing Plants - Dicotyledons
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
TROSPE
Habitat
Terrestrial. Mainly remnant stands of forest, also scrub, sometimes found in more remote forest clearings.
Features
Climbing perennial, often to high canopy, usually hairless. Rootstock thick. Stems slender, usually with coiling tendrils to 7 cm long, watery sap. Leaves 5-fingered, each leaflet 10-35 x 5-16 mm. Flowers solitary, tubular, 15 mm diam, 5 irregular petals, bottom 3 petals with very slender claw 7-8 mm long, scarlet (occ rose), Nov-Apr. Seed capsule thinly fleshy, of 3 round parts, 1 or 2 often remaining small, 1 cm wide, deep blue.
Similar taxa
Tropaeolum speciosum is very similar vegetatively to Tropaeolum pentaphyllum. T. pentaphyllum only 2 upper petals developed, while T. speciosum has 5 more or less equal petals.
Flowering
November, December, January, February, March, April
Flower colours
Red/Pink
Fruiting
December - March
Year naturalised
1958
Origin
Chile
Reason For Introduction
Ornamental
Life Cycle Comments
Perennial.
Reproduction
Seed
Dispersal
Fruit dispersed by birds
Tolerances
Tolerant of warm-cold temperatures, salt, wind, many soil types, damp to dry.