Podranea ricasoliana (Tanfani) Sprague

Nomenclature and Growth Habit

Podranea ricasoliana (Tanfani) Sprague, commonly known as pink trumpet vine, grows as an evergreen vining shrub with woody, twining stems and no tendrils.

Height

It can reach a height of 5 meters (16 feet).

Leaf Morphology

Its opposite leaves are up to 25 centimeters (9.8 inches) long, and are imparipinnate, made up of 5 to 13 leaflets.

Leaflet Shape and Size

The leaflets are ovate, lanceolate-ovate to broadly oblong-elliptic, and pointed; they measure 2-7 centimeters long by 1-3 centimeters wide, and may be somewhat larger on new shoots.

Leaf Color and Margins

The leaves are dark green, with somewhat toothed margins and a cuneate base that is often slightly asymmetrical, and each leaflet has a short to long acuminate apex.

Petiole Length

The petiole is 0.8–1 centimeter (0.31–0.39 inches) long.

Native Distribution

Pink trumpet vine is native to South Africa, where it is endemic to the Port St. Johns area at the mouth of the Mzimvubu River, between East London and Durban, though there are unconfirmed hypotheses that it may have originated in East Africa instead.

Introduced Range

It has since been introduced to Morocco, Spain, the Canary Islands, Saint Helena, Hawaii, Bolivia, Central America, Mexico, and many Caribbean islands.