Saturday

Garlic or Amethyst Vine

What stunning specimen. After the freeze here on the gulf coast seems to ravish most of my tropical's I was unable to cover, we'll start anew with a Garlic vine. All parts of the vine, when rubbed or crushed will smell like garlic and can be used in food.

Latin: Mansoa alliacea (Pseudocalymma alliaceum)
Family: Bignoniaceae
English: Garlic Vine
 

The vines of the Garlic Vine attach itself with strong twining tendrils. The leaves are bright green and up to 15 cm long. The flowers are first beautiful deep lavender and have a white throat. Later the flowers fade to a pale lavender and finally become almost white. All three flower colors can be found on the plant simultaneously.
Abundant bloom finds place two or more times during the rainy season. In other months incidental clusters of flowers appear. The flowers are regularly visited by hummingbirds looking for nectar.

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7 comments:

Aaerelon said...

I've never heard of this vine before. Very interesting and beautiful.

Anonymous said...

Woah, how beautiful. I live in Italy, its rare there too

Garden Medusa said...

Thanks. I've just purchased the plant and it only has a slight garlic scent to it when rubbing the leafs. Otherwise it has no scent. Now I just have to wait for the blooms :)

Muhammad khabbab said...

What a beauty. Sadly i am unable to find it anywhere else. Not even seeds. It is very ideal to our subtropical climate though.

Garden Medusa said...

If I find a seed source, I'll post it!

alan kent said...

i have one growing in my garden in Uvongo South Africa & it does really well. any idea how to prune it or tips on general care.

Blackdove said...

Beautiful flowers! I hear they only flower 2 times a year. Is that true? Is there a way to keep them flowering continuously (as in year-round)?