The World Flora Online

Common forest climber Flowers turning from yellow to red. Flowers turning from yellow to red.

Undergrowth in coastal forest and dune bush, estuaries, riverbanks. Indian Ocean Coastal Belt, Indigenous Forests, Albany Thicket.

A climbing plant. Stems terete, glabrous. Leaves about 10 cm long, 4-8 cm broad, ovate, long-acuminate into a tendril, glabrous. Flowers solitary; buds ovate in outline, winged. Pedicel up to 13 cm long, terete, glabrous, sharply bent at the apex. Perianth-segments at first a pale yellow in colour, changing to red above and yellow beneath when more mature, at first horizontal and then strongly reflexed, 5 cm long, 2 cm broad, lanceolate, acuminate, with a deeply channelled claw, keeled in the channel. Stamens at first pointing downwards, at length becoming horizontal and radiating, 2-7 cm long; anthers 1-2 cm long, 3 mm broad, linear. Ovary 1-7 cm long, deeply 3-lobed; style bent at right angles to the ovary, 3-8 cm long; lobes 3 mm long. Climbing or erect geophyte, 0.25-2.43 m high. Corms abruptly bent, tunic lacking. Stems supple, scandent. Leaves alternate or crowded in places, linear to ovate, attenuated into a terminal, recurved tendril. Flowers ± nodding, on upper part of stem on long pedicels, placed beside a leaf or unattended; tepal segments free, equal, narrowly ovate-acuminate, often crisped, persistent, yellow, orange or red. Stamens hypogynous; filaments firm, terete, spreading; anthers 2-thecous, versatile. Ovary oblong; ovules many. Flowering time Nov.-Mar. Fruit a cylindrical capsule, 3-valved, loculicidal, leathery. Seeds globose, bright red, fleshy. Climbing or erect geophyte, 0.25-2.43 m high. Corms abruptly bent, tunic lacking. Stems supple, scandent. Leaves alternate or crowded in places, linear to ovate, attenuated into a terminal, recurved tendril. Flowers ± nodding, on upper part of stem on long pedicels, placed beside a leaf or unattended; tepal segments free, equal, narrowly ovate-acuminate, often crisped, persistent, yellow, orange or red. Stamens hypogynous; filaments firm, terete, spreading; anthers 2-thecous, versatile. Ovary oblong; ovules many. Flowering time Nov.-Mar. Fruit a cylindrical capsule, 3-valved, loculicidal, leathery. Seeds globose, bright red, fleshy.

Extends from the Albany district through the eastern part of South Africa and into tropical Africa.

Leaves alternate, sometimes opposite or verticillate and clustered, sometimes clustered above the middle of the stem, sessile, base sometimes sheathing the stem, ranging from linear, elliptic-lanceolate, elliptic to ovate, 6–17.5 cm long, 0.4–5 cm wide, apex acute, acuminate, falcate or ending in a tendril. Herb, stem erect, simple or branched, sometimes not higher than 40 cm, or plant scandent or climbing, up to several meters long. Flowers solitary, axillary, sometimes terminal, different shades of yellow, orange, red, crimson, purple/mauve stripes or fading purple, often bicolored; pedicel erect, recurved apically, 3.5–18 cm long. Perianth sometimes at the base connate into a short tube, up to 2 mm long; perianth segments (strongly) reflexed, base clawed, narrowly elliptic-linear, oblong-lanceolate, sometimes ovate to obovate, 29–85 mm long, 4–25(–38) mm wide, the margins sometimes crisped,apex acuminate to acute, sometimes falcate. Filaments filiform, sometimes flattened, 10–45 mm long; anthers straight to curved, 5.5–15 mm long. Ovary 4–13 mm long, 1–5 mm wide; style 9–50 mm long. Capsule 37–50 mm long, 10–14 mm in diameter; seeds 4 mm. Herb, stem erect, simple or branched, sometimes not higher than 40 cm, or plant scandent or climbing, up to several meters long. Flowers solitary, axillary, sometimes terminal, different shades of yellow, orange, red, crimson, purple/mauve stripes or fading purple, often bicolored; pedicel erect, recurved apically, 3.5–18 cm long. Perianth sometimes at the base connate into a short tube, up to 2 mm long; perianth segments (strongly) reflexed, base clawed, narrowly elliptic-linear, oblong-lanceolate, sometimes ovate to obovate, 29–85 mm long, 4–25(–38) mm wide, the margins sometimes crisped,apex acuminate to acute, sometimes falcate. Filaments filiform, sometimes flattened, 10–45 mm long; anthers straight to curved, 5.5–15 mm long. Ovary 4–13 mm long, 1–5 mm wide; style 9–50 mm long. Capsule 37–50 mm long, 10–14 mm in diameter; seeds 4 mm.

Rhizome usually forked, ca. 1 cm in diam., fleshy. Stem scandent, 2--3 m or more, rather slender. Leaves alternate or occasionally also opposite, sessile or shortly petiolate, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, 7--13 cm, apex long caudate with a tendril. Flowers nodding; pedicel 10--15 cm. Tepals reflexed, bright red, proximally tinged with yellow, linear-oblanceolate, 4.5--5 cm × 7--9 mm, base slightly clawed, margin much crisped. Filaments 3--4 cm; anthers ca. 1 cm. Style 2.5--3.5 cm; stigma lobes 6--7 mm. Fl. Jul--Aug. 2 n = 22, 88, 90.