Species

Tropaeolum pentaphyllum

Common Name(s)

ladies' legs

Family

Tropaeolaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Exotic

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Lianes and Related Trailing Plants

Habitat

Terrestrial.

Features

Glabrous climbing perennial with thin stems and thick rootstock. Leaves are composed of 5 sub-sessile leaflets each to about 2 x 1 cm. long pink pedicels (up to 14 cm long) support complex flowers. Flowers consist of 5 triangular green sepals dotted with red, 2 red petals at top of flower, and pink spur to 2.5 cm long.

Similar Taxa

Vegetaive parts can easily be confused wth T. speciosum but the flowers can be distinguished immediately by the 2 small petals included within the calyx as opposed to the 5 large exserted petals of T. speciosum.

Flowering

October, November, December, January

Flower Colours

Green,Red / Pink

Year Naturalised

1988

Origin

Central South America

Reason For Introduction

Ornamental.

This page last updated on 5 Mar 2013