Species

Tropaeolum speciosum

Common Name(s)

Chilean flame creeper

Family

Tropaeolaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Exotic

NVS Species Code

TROSPE

The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Lianes and Related Trailing Plants

Habitat

Terrestrial. Mainly remnant stands of forest, also scrub, sometimes found in more remote forest clearings.

Features

Climbing perennial, often to high canopy, usually hairless. Rootstock thick. Stems slender, usually with coiling tendrils to 7 cm long, watery sap. Leaves 5-fingered, each leaflet 10-35 x 5-16 mm. Flowers solitary, tubular, 15 mm diam, 5 irregular petals, bottom 3 petals with very slender claw 7-8 mm long, scarlet (occ rose), Nov-Apr. Seed capsule thinly fleshy, of 3 round parts, 1 or 2 often remaining small, 1 cm wide, deep blue.

Similar Taxa

Tropaeolum speciosum is very similar vegetatively to Tropaeolum pentaphyllum. T. pentaphyllum only 2 upper petals developed, while T. speciosum has 5 more or less equal petals.

Flowering

November, December, January, February, March, April

Flower Colours

Red / Pink

Fruiting

December - March

Year Naturalised

1958

Origin

Chile

Reason For Introduction
Ornamental

Life Cycle Comments
Perennial.

Reproduction
Seed

Dispersal
Fruit dispersed by birds

Tolerances
Tolerant of warm-cold temperatures, salt, wind, many soil types, damp to dry.

This page last updated on 18 Jan 2010