A
somewhat rare plant in cultivation this species
plant from Taiwan bears bell shaped flowers very
similar to C.henryi between
the months of December and March. The relatively
small nodding bell shaped flowers (15-25 mm across)
have creamy-white sepals (fading to yellow-brown)
sometimes with a purple tinge especially towards
the base. The flowers give off a lovely sweet
fragrance although you need to be in close proximity
or in an enclosed environment to gain the benefit.
The
plant has very distinctive ternate narrow (lineate)
glossy green leaves which occasionally try to
be trilobed. The lower leaves can be single or
trilobed (see bottom left of picture on the right).
The
end leaflet being almost twice the length of
the two side leaves. The leaves although looking
smooth sided actually show small undulations
and also fine hairs down their length. These
plant hairs can occasionally appear on the upper
surface but they are shorter and very sparse.
The plant stems are comparable to the leaves
as they too are very thin compared to those on
C.henryi.
It was at one time thought this was a completely
different species but for the time being it is
grouped with its larger leaved compatriot.
It seems to have the same vigour when in full growth as C.henryi and
attempts to climb although its generally more dainty growth only allows it to
cover smaller areas in an equivalent length of time.
If left unchecked by the
cold weather it could probably put on a similar length of growth as C.henryi although
it would probably take twice the length of time.
The hardiness of this plant is somewhat up for question as I have lost two of
these plants and would definitely recommend a conservatory unless you have a
particularly warm and relatively frost free position. I would say that C.henryi is
definitely more hardier than this thin leaved variety as 'morii' at
the hint of cold weather says sorry I don't like this and turns brown and drops
all its leaves within a very short space of time.
C.henryi on
the contrary does no such thing and maintains some varying amount of leaves even
when subject to freezing temperatures. I think if you want to see any flowers
on this plant you must have a conservatory and if you don't you will be struggling
to keep it alive during the winter months.
Flower
Colour |
- |
Small
nodding bell shaped flowers have creamy-white
sepals (fading to yellow-brown) sometimes
with a purple tinge on the inside and recurving
tipstowards the base . |
Pruning
Group |
- |
Group
1 |
Hardiness |
- |
Zone
10 |
Height |
- |
15'
or 450 cm or lower |
Flowering
Season |
- |
January
to March |
Aspect |
- |
Warm
site or a Conservatory |
Fragrant |
- |
Lightly
fragrant |
Evergreen |
- |
Possibly
if in a heated conservatory. |
Other
info |
- |
Found
in Taiwan |