Acanthaceae

Thunbergia laurifolia

Common Names: Laurel clockvine

Plant Form: Perennial vine. Size: Climbing up to 15 m high. Stem: Square-shaped when young, becoming thicker and rounded with age. Dotted with glands. Leaves: Oval-shaped without lobes, narrowing to a pointed tip, dotted with glands. 13-19 cm long. Flowers: Trumpet-shaped with 5 rounded pale lavender-blue petals. Up to 8 cm long and in drooping clusters at the end of branches. Fruit and Seeds: Oval-shaped capsules with pinched ends, containing 2-4 brown scaly seeds. Habitat: Riverbanks, roadsides, old gardens, forests, woodlands. Distinguishing Features: Extremely similar to closely related Blue trumpet vine (Thunbergia grandiflora) but can be distinguished by lacking leaf lobes.