Solandra maxima

Solandra maxima
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Solanales
Family:	Solanaceae
Genus:	Solandra
Species:	S. maxima
Binomial name
Solandra maxima (Sessé & Moc. ex Dunal) P.S.Green
Synonyms
Datura maxima Moc. & Sessé ex Dunal

Solandra maxima is a flowering plant in the Solanaceae family. It is also known as cup of gold vine, golden chalice vine, Copa de Oro, or Hawaiian lily, is a vigorous vine which is endemic to Mexico and Central America. It has very large yellow flowers and glossy leaves. It is often planted as an ornamental plant.

Description

It is a fast-growing, 12 m (40 ft) tall climbing vine (occasionally as much as 165 feet (fifty meters) in length ) , which is often pruned back in cultivation to a shrub with overhanging twigs. All parts of the plant are poisonous. The leaves are alternately arranged, broad-elliptical to oblong, 5-18 × 2-9 cm in size, leathery, glossy on top and usually short-acuminate.

Flowers

The funnel-shaped flowers are usually solitary. The calyx is 5-8 cm long, pentagonal and consists of three to five cusps. The corolla is 15-24 cm long and consists of large, rounded, 8-15 cm wide lobes. The flower is creamy white to light yellow at the start of flowering and changes color to ocher to orange during flowering. Violet or brown bands run deep into the flower tube across the center of the corolla. Five stamens protrude from the flower tube. The flowers open in the evening, exuding a pungent scent. This attracts bats as pollinators. The fruits are round, up to 7 cm large berries on which the sepals are preserved.

Flower of the Solandra Maxima tree

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  Funchal: Botanical garden
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  Gran Canaria
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  Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania
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  Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Miami, Florida
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  Juvenile

External links

Media related to Solandra maxima at Wikimedia Commons