Ask A Scientist© Botany Archive

 
name         Kathy
status       educator
age          40s

Question -   Pertains to botany:
Recently I have been given some plants for our "natural area" around my
school but the donator was unfamiliar with the
the genus and species of the particular plants. The only information
given was the "common" name and that may have been
altered through the handing-down of the name from one to another! I was
wondering if you would be able to help me determine
the true name of these plants. The common names as I was told are below,
with their descriptions following:

The hummingbird vine - fine vine, serrorated leaves(reminds you of a
maple leaf with deeper and more serations), the flower
is a trumpet-shaped with a stamen in the center, (similar to a morning
glory), deep rose in color, the throat is yellow.
The petiole is long and slender.

The monkey tree - leaflets are opposite, 8 pairs of toothed leaflets and
a final end leaf, when leaf is torn from the stem, white,
milky fluid is secreted, central stem is coated with fine hair, it is
very pale green appearance. I was told it produced
a green pod which later develops into a red velvet pod.
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Dear Kathy,

sorry, but those "common names" might not be very "common"

possiblities:

?trumpet creeper = Campsis radicans
http://www.rubythroat.org/CreeperTrumpetMain.html

?monkey cigar = Catalpa speciosa
http://www.bbg.org/research/nymf/encyclopedia/big/cat0030.htm

Sincerely,

Anthony R. Brach, Ph.D.
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