code: 605
It is now naturalised in the Caribbean, East Africa
Family: Asclepiadeae
Common name: Rubber Vine
Plant Classification: Greenhouse climber Half hardy climber
Packet Content(approx.): 25
This woody, perennial climbing vine, which is native to south-west Madagascar has attractive, quilled pinkish purple flowers. It is one of the fastest growing plants in the world, sometimes in the tropics extending by as much as five metres in a month. In the tropics, flowering usually occurs after the wet season ends, along with fruit set. Its sap, or latex, when treated contains commercial quality rubber. It is now naturalised in the Caribbean, East Africa, Mauritius, India, south east Asia, Indonesia, Latin America, the southern United States, Fiji and New Caledonia.
Sowing advice:
Sow seeds, covering them thinly, at any time but in good light, at between 20 and 25 degrees C. Prick out small seedlings into 3 inch/8cm pots containing a John Innes, loam-based compost. Grow on before planting into a large container or sheltered spot outdoors and be sure to protect them from freezing in winter. In tropical areas these climbers can spread very rapidly indeed.
Distribution:
Due to its large showy flowers, C. grandiflora is now being widely advertised on horticultural websites; hence the name of commerce, purple Allamanda (a popular ornamental vine of South American origin). Although listed as C. grandiflora, the ‘purple’ epithet strongly suggest that this is C. madagascarienesis and not C. grandiflora. It is likely, therefore, that this species has a much wider geographical distribution than the official records suggest.
