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House on Fire – Pyrostegia venusta

I think I took this picture while on one of our road trips. Maybe  three years ago I guess.  We drove past this house to our hotel  and I was fascinate by the fan banana palm (Ravenala madagascariensis) on the right and the Pyrostegia venusta  or Flame Vine. The word Greek word ‘pyr’ means “fire” and ‘stegé meaning “a roof” came to my mind immediately when I saw the house on flame. The word Venusta in Latin means ‘beautiful. ‘ This vine is locally called the Fire cracker vine  and is often confused with the fire cracker shrub.

The flame vine is an aggressive grower in the tropics. I have seen the vine growing on electric poles and wires. I have always wanted to have these in my garden , but their aggressive nature scares me as my space is limited.This vine is also very heavy and needs strong support. I did once have an idea of growing it on a pole and keeping it trimmed, but I never got down to doing that either.

I enjoyed this vine on my neighbors fence when I lived in the apartment.  The fire cracker vine grew all around her border walls and the ipomea horsfalliae on her roof top. She was an avid gardener but she was sensible (unlike me) and grew only a few varieties of plants.  Also because of the shade from our apartment very few plants grew in her garden.

I have never seen this vine without flowers. There is always a bunch or two somewhere in the dense foliage.

Here is the post about the Ipomea horsfalliae, take a look if you are interested.

Macro Monday challenge – Ipomea Horsfalliae

  • Question of

    Do you like the looks of this Flame vine?

    • Yes
    • No
  • Question of

    Do you like the ornamental Fan banana palm or the Ravenala madagascariensis in the picture?

    • Yes
    • No

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14 Points

Written by Dawn

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