Creepy Creepers

Sunday, July 05, 2009

I have not seen these creepers (below) before till I visited the Rose Centre at Cameron Highlands. These three creepers - Jade Vine, Lady Slipper and Passionflower - were creeping all over at certain parts of the garden.

You can even touch it to get a feel of the flowers if you want!



This blue butterfly Jade Vine actually sent a little shiver down my spine due to its greenish blue colour. I like blue flowers but I found this one a little creepy. Morever, they were hanging down above me.

The botanic name of this plant is Strongylodon Macrobotrys and it is native to the tropical forest of the Philippines.



Fortunately this Lady Slipper vine, botanically named Thunbergia Mysorensis and native to India, has nice contrasting colours of yellow and brown.


I was curious about why it is named Lady Slipper (as written on a signboard). Then as I was examining the pendant of flowers, I noticed that the bigger flowers do actually look like a lady's shoe.




Another creeper that I have never seen before is the Passionflower. I learnt that they are found in many countries. To me the flower looks like a big eye that is wide opened and with something popping out through it in the middle. Notice those 'eye lashes' in a circle at the centre? Yucks!

Though this flower has a unique form, I am not drawn to it. Strange looking flower isn't it?



Do you have any of these 'strange looking' creepers in your garden?

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22 comments

  1. I've actually seen that Lady Slipper vine too, at the NY Botanical Garden..such a cool looking bloom! And wow, that blue, blue flower is strange, indeed!
    Lynn

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  2. Hi Steph, you do pretty good at finding some pretty exceptional plants. I've had my eye on the Jade Vine for a long time. Apparently, the seed is viable for a very short period and virtually impossible to find anywhere. Thunbergia mysorensis seed is probably unavailable for the same reasons. Of course, passion fruit vines are always a sheer delight.

    The was a garden at the old Perfumery (no longer exists) that had that same thunbergia vine growing on an arbor, much like in your photo. To my knowledge, it was the only one in Bermuda and probably didn't survive the change in ownership. It was next to an 150 year old Tamarind tree. That lost out in the redevelopment as well, I'm afraid to say. This is what we call progress.

    Regarding your question, I have an Afgekia sericea vine. Do you know it? It's quite outrageous.

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  3. I'd seen the Jade Vine in one blog but the name wasn't given. but I remember looking at it for quite a while...most unusual, alien-looking vine. I find the other two pretty--haven't really thought about the eye connection. Lol!

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  4. Steph, these plants are very interesting. Cameron Highlands is really a gardener's paradise.

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  5. Hi Steph, wow - these are "wild" flowers. We definitely have nothing so exotic in our garden (of course, we have *nothing* in our garden, so...) Thanks for your post of hello on my blog. Sorry I haven't been arond much. I'm about 3-4 weeks away from giving birth, so I haven't been doing much gardening of late. But we have some plans in the works so, I'll be updating soon!

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  6. The Jade vine looks so pretty from a distance but as you said it is a little strange up close.The passion flower is pretty though.

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  7. what a beautiful flowers.

    Thanks for such a nice post !

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  8. Autumnbelle, Cameron Highlands is my favourite local holiday destination ;-)

    Zindagi, Lynn, Lona, Gardening Girl, Kanak, it is interesting to know that you like the flowers. As they say, beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder ;-)

    Prospero, nope, I have not come across Afgekia sericea vine. I googled and saw that the flower is quite unique :-)

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  9. HI Steph, thanks for fascinating post, for showing beautiful, weird and unusual creeping flowering plants. I have nothing in my garden remotely like them. Wisteria and roses are boring and predictable and shy by comparison to those extravagent extroverts.

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  10. Hi Steph,

    I find the Blue Jade and Passion fruit blooms awesome! They must have taken your breath away with their vivid-coloured blooms.

    Thanks for leaving a comment in my blog. You can also plant mulberry in a pot in your garden.

    I got one of my mulberry plants from the Bandar Harapan Organic Farm in Ara Damansara. You can contact Ivan Ho at 019-3751382 or Saktivelu at 012-3331341 or visit their website on how to get to the farm: http://www.bandarharapan.org/bandarharapan/location_map.html

    Or try to contact Danny (Mobile: 016-2785961) who has a plant booth on Sundays at Amcorp Mall. Ask him if he has this plant. He sells many kind of herbs at his booth.

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  11. They are very pretty!!! That plant is the prettiest shade of blue!

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  12. Hello,

    I have a quick and private question to ask you about your blog. When you get a chance please contact me back at bhawthorne@maacenter.org

    Bill

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  13. I am not a big fan of creepy plants, it looks beautiful in a public garden, but I just never think of having it in my garden.

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  14. I remember seeing the Jade flower in cameron Highlands and found them very attractive.

    My son used to grow that red passiflora in our garden. It was his pride and joy. But we learned that creepers don't last very long. After several years, it began to dry out and now it's gone. He's thinking of planting another one again in my patio but I really don't have the space/trellis for it to creep on.

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  15. JC, thank you for the helpful information!

    BlurTing, over here Ikea sells trellis to be mounted on the wall for vertical height gardening. I am not sure if Singapore carries such stock.

    VueJardin, public gardens do have their own appeal... unique plants to capture our attention he he he...

    Catmint, glad that you liked this post ;-)

    DirtPrincess, yup this blue shade is rather unique.

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  16. The Rose Centre at Cameron Highlands looks like a marvelous place to visit. I love the way those flowers hang down. The only similar flowers I've seen in my area are passionflowers, but they're not common. Thanks for sharing.

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  17. Plant a creepy plant in your bedroom and scare your husband.. haha :))
    Wow.. u really managed to take a lot of pics in Cameron Highlands!

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  18. Gosh these are lovely! Thanks so much for your kind comment on the blueberries. If I could figure out a way to send you some, I would..
    Hugs..

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  19. Wow, now THAT is something you don't see every day :D

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  20. The Jade Vine is one of my favourite plants! Far too tropical for me to grow at home, but fortunately it blooms every spring at Oxfords botanic gardens.

    I've never heard Thunbergia mysorensis called "Slipper Vine" - our accepted common name is The Clock Vine.

    You can find my photos of these two on my blog post here.....

    http://meanie-allthingsfloral.blogspot.com/2010/10/oxford-botanic-gardens.html

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  21. Keith, as for me, the Jade Vine is creepy hehe...

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