Araujia sericifera

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Araujia sericifera

Family: (Apocynaceae)

(TP) to 6′. Cruel Plant.  South America.  This twining, woody climber is another unique member of the Stonecrop plant collection.  The softly hairy, stalked leaves and loose cymes of waxy flowers belie its sinister relationship to its pollinators.  The five-petalled, white flowers are striped with two pink lines on each petal that act as a track to guide nocturnal moths toward the centre.  The sticky pollen then traps moth’s proboscides and holds them until they either escape or perish, ensuring the transfer of pollen within the flower.  An invasive species in many parts of the world, Araujia is not hardy here and thus can be safely cultivated as a handsome specimen for the warm glasshouse.  We bring our Araujia outside in the summer to enjoy its fragrant and showy flowers, and in the winter we enjoy the unique fruits under glass.  The large, leathery pods contain seeds tipped with a tuft of silky hairs, which give the plant its Latin species name of sericifera, meaning silk-bearing. Sun.  3 &T2