Tecoma capensis (Thunb.) Lindl., Bignoniaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Evaluate, score: 6 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Tecomaria capensis (Thunb.) Spach

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Cape honeysucke

French: bignone, bouquet, chèvrefeuille du Cap, jasmin du Cap, técome

Habit:  vine

Description:  "Vine-like shrub or shrub.  Leaves odd-pinnately compound, opposite, leaflets five to nine, blades ovate to round, 1-4 cm long with toothed margins.  Flowers continuously through the year; flowers several, borne in short terminal racemes or narrow panicles.  Corolla of fused petals, funnel-shaped, curved, 4-6 cm long, two-lipped with five oblong spreading lobes, bright orange or scarlet.  Fruit a narrow linear capsule 7-18 cm long, containing many winged seeds"  (Whistler, 2000; pp. 451-452).

"Large or small vines; leaflets 7-9, ovate to broadly elliptic, 1.5-3 cm long, acute or short-acuminate, coarsely serrate, somewhat pubescent, pilose beneath on the veins, stellate-tomentose along the costa; calyx 4-5 mm long, puberulent, costate; corolla orange-red, 4-5 cm long, glabrous, the lobes small and short; capsule linear, about 11 cm long and 8 mm broad, attenuate to each end" (Standley et al., 1974; p. 229).

Habitat/ecology:  Cultivated vine.  Reported occasionally naturalizing in tropical America, but not confirmed (Standley et al., 1974; p. 229).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Mozambique, South Africa and Swaziland; widely cultivated in the subtropics (GRIN).

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	introduced cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2007)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 253)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 23) Vouchers cited: Baumann 9877, MacKee 21114
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced cultivated	Sykes, W. R. (1970) (p. 51) Voucher cited: CHR 168868
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced cultivated	Yuncker, T. G. (1943) (p. 107) Voucher cited: Yuncker 9902 (BISH)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	introduced cultivated	Lavergne, Christophe (2006) "Cultivé/subspontané"

Additional information:  Photos and additional information at the Environment Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, web site of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council.
Information from the World Agroforestry Centre's AgroForestryTree Database.

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

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

References:

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1979. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian dicotyledonae. Micronesica 15:1-295.

Lavergne, Christophe. 2006. List des especes exotiques envahissantes a La Reunion. Unpublished manuscript (Excel file). .

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

McCormack, Gerald. 2007. Cook Islands biodiversity and natural heritage. On-line database.

Standley, Paul C./Williams, Louis O./Gibson, Dorothy Nash. 1974. Flora of Guatemala. Fieldiana: Botany. Vol. 24, Part X, Nos. 3-4. Chicago Natural History Museum. pp. 153-466.

Sykes, W. R. 1970. Contributions to the flora of Niue. New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Bulletin 200, Wellington. 321 pp.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2007. 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.

Yuncker, T. G. 1943. The flora of Niue Island. Bishop Mus. Bull. 178. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 126 pp.