Asarina erubescens

Family

Plantaginaceae

Botanical Name

Asarina erubescens (D.Don) Pennell

Pennell, F.W. (1947) Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad. 99: 174. Type: ?.

Synonyms

Lophospermum erubescens D.Don, The British Flower Garden 2: 68(1832), Type: ?.

Common name

Climbing Lophospermum; Maurandia; Lophospermum, Climbing; Creeping Gloxinia; Gloxinia, Creeping; Snapdragon Vine; Vine, Snapdragon; Snapdragon, Climbing; Climbing Snapdragon

Weed

*

Stem

A slender vine not exceeding a stem diameter of 2 cm.

Leaves

Leaf blades ovate-cordate, very soft, about 6-8 x 6-8 cm, margin with 1 or 2 lobes on each side towards the base and about 18-20 rounded teeth on each side. Petiole about 4.5-6 cm long, often modified to form coiled tendrils. Upper and lower leaf blades surfaces densely clothed in pale simple hairs. Lateral veins poorly developed.

Flowers

Peduncles about 20-25 mm long. Sepals ovate, about 25 x 15 mm, densely hairy on both surfaces, folded near the base. Corolla tube curved, about 60 mm long, throat white. Corolla lobes about 12 x 15-16 mm, apices rounded. Stamens attached near the base of the corolla tube. Staminal filaments about 35-45 mm long, 2 long and 2 shorter, clothed in glandular hairs on the upper half with a large glandular appendage near the apex. Ovary hairy, about 4 mm long. Style hairy towards the base. Ovules numerous.

Fruit

Fruits +/- bilobed, about 16 x 23 x 15 mm, calyx lobes rather large, persistent at the base, stylar remnants often persistent at the apex. Seeds numerous, winged all around, seed + wing about 3-4 mm diam. Seeds clothed in numerous finger-like trichomes. Embryo about 0.5 mm long. Radicle about as wide as the cotyledons.

Seedlings

Cotyledons orbicular, about 3.5-6 x 3.5-7 mm. Both the upper and lower surfaces and margins clothed in scattered crisped hairs. First pair of leaf blades ovate-cordate, margin with 1-3 large teeth on each side. Upper and lower surfaces clothed in erect translucent hairs. At the tenth leaf stage: leaf blade cordate, base deeply lobed, margin toothed, almost lobed. Leaf blade about 6.5-7 x 6-6.5 cm, petiole about 4 cm long. All seedling parts clothed in soft, erect hairs.

Distribution and Ecology

An introduced species originally from Mexico, now naturalized in NEQ and southwards as far as north eastern New South Wales. Altitudinal range in NEQ uncertain but collected at 900-950 m. In NEQ usually found on rain forest margins. Also naturalized in New Guinea and other parts of Malesia.

NEQ

X

Slender Vine

X

RFK Code

2660