Pyrostegia venusta (Ker Gawl.) Miers, Bignoniaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 7 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Bignonia venusta Ker-Gawler

Common name(s): [more details]

English: flame flower, flame vine, flaming trumpet vine, orange creeper, orange trumpet vine

Hawaiian: huapala

Habit:  vine

Description:  "Vine, woody, climbing.  Leaves compound, opposite, leaflets two or three, blades ovate, 4-11 cm long with a three-parted tendril sometimes replacing the third leaflet.  Flowers continuously throughout the year; flowers in clusters of two to eight borne in a leafy terminal panicle or on short lateral branches.  Corolla of fused petals, tubular, 5-7 cm long with five ovate lobes at the tip, bright orange.  Fruit a narrow cylindrical capsule 25-30 cm long, containing many winged seeds"  (Whistler, 2000; pp. 390-391).

"Climbing vine, found only near sea level in cultivation; petioles 2.5-6 cm long; leaflet blades ovate, 4-8 x 2-4.5 cm; cymes 1-8-flowered, combined into a compact, leafy panicle; pedicels 1-2 cm long; calyx 5-8 mm long; corolla bright orange, the tube 5-7.5 cm long, the lobes at length recurved, 1-1.5 cm long; anthers protruding at anthesis; capsule 25-30 cm long" (Smith, 1991; p. 142).

Habitat/ecology:  "Fertile, moist, but well-drained soils in sunny places are preferred"  (Whistler, 2000; p. 391).

Propagation:  Cuttings and suckers (Csurhes & Edwards, 1998; p. 193).

Native range:  "Brazil and Paraguay and is widespread in cultivation"  (Staples & Herbst, 2005; pp. 184-1850.

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island	cultivated	Sykes, Bill (year unknown)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1991) (p. 142) Voucher cited: DA 10896
French Polynesia Tubuai (Austral) Islands	Rimatara (Rimitara) Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1934) (voucher ID: BISH 133823) Taxon name on voucher: Pyrostegia venusta (Ker Gawl.) Miers
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced cultivated	Imada, Clyde T./Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2008) (p. Voucher specimens) Voucher cited: Degener 7991 (BISH 42938)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced cultivated	Imada, Clyde T./Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2008) (p. Voucher specimens) Voucher cited: Rock 2576 (BISH 42939)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 22) Vouchers cited: Däniker 2682, MacKee 13269, MacKee 39307
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	introduced cultivated	Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. (1988) (p. 104)
Tonga Tongatapu Group	‘Eua Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2001) (p. Field notes.) Single specimen on fence on main road near the airport.

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	New South Wales	introduced invasive cultivated	Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. (1998) (p. 193)

Comments:  Recorded as a weed in Peru (Holm et al., 1979).

Additional information:
Fact sheet at Floridata.

Additional online information about Pyrostegia venusta is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Pyrostegia venusta as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Pyrostegia venusta may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

Other Latin names:  Bignonia venusta Ker-Gawler

References:

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1934. Voucher specimen #BISH 133823 (St.John, H. 16926).

Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. 1998. Potential environmental weeds in Australia: Candidate species for preventative control. Canberra, Australia. Biodiversity Group, Environment Australia. 208 pp.

Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. 1988. Flora of the Solomon Islands. Research Bulletin No. 7. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Honiara. 203 pp.

Holm, Leroy G./Plucknett, D. L./Pancho, J. V./Herberger, J. P. 1977. The world’s worst weeds: distribution and biology. East-West Center/University Press of Hawaii. 609 pp.

Imada, Clyde T./Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. 2008. Annotated checklist of cultivated plants of Hawai‘i (online searchable database).

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Smith, Albert C. 1991. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 5. 626 pp.

Space, James C./Flynn, Tim. 2001. Report to the Kingdom of Tonga on invasive plant species of environmental concern.  USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 78 pp.

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. 2005. A tropical garden flora: plants cultivated in the Hawaiian Islands and other tropical places. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 908 pp.

Sykes, Bill. 0. Bill Sykes, pers. com.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2009. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Whistler, W. A. 2000. Tropical ornamentals: a guide. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon. 542 pp.