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Names: |
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| Family | Asclepiadaceae. |
| Genus & Species | Araujia sericofera |
| AKA | Araujia sericifera. Araujia albens. Physianthus albens. Araujia hortorum. Schubertia albens. |
| Common Names | White bladder flower. Common moth-vine. Moth catcher. Cruel plant. |
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| Size/Shape | Vining. Grows to 1-3’ in containers. Small vine. Robust twining shrub. Watch that it doesn't strangle nearby plants. Stems twining, slender, woody, sometimes branched. |
| Leaves | Large gray-green leaves. Evergreen. Leaves opposite, narrowly triangular, bases truncate to slightly lobed (cordate), 5-12 cm long, 2-6 cm wide, spaced 7-18 cm along stems, evergreen or partially deciduous in cooler climates. Upper surfaces glabrous, glossy dark green. Lower surfaces gray-green, minutely pitted, densely covered with minute hairs. |
| Flowers | Small, bell-shaped, white waxy blooms. Little, pale pink flowers. Racemes of white or pink flowers with flat spreading terminal petals that trap nocturnal moths and hold them until dawn. Flower clusters (cymes) 2-10-flowered, develop from just below leaf axils. Flowers waxy white, 2-3 cm long, ~ 1-2 cm wide. Petals fused, 5-lobed, bell- to funnel-shaped. Sepals 5, fused near the base, green, erect, leaf-like. |
| Blooming Season | All summer long. Produces seed the first season. Late summer. |
| Fragrance | Intensely fragrant flowers. Not everyone likes the smell. Scented. |
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| Propagation | Insect pollinated. Reproduction by seeds is very easy. Sericofera means "carrier of silk" for the relatively voluminuos soft silky annex (flock) of every small seed, that aid the natural diffusion of seeds by wind, coming out from the leathery fruit, when opened. Pods narrowly ovoid, pendant, 8-15 cm long, 4-5 cm in diameter, pale gray-green, open to release numerous seeds at maturity. Vegetatively from severed underground stems or crowns. |
| Soil | Tolerates poor soils. |
| Water | Tolerates wet or dry. |
| Food | Don’t over fertilize. |
| Pruning | Ensure that it doesn't strangle nearby plants. |
| Light | Full sun. Part sun to full sun. |
| Climate | Tropical. Tolerates some freezing temperatures with ease. Zone 9 and higher. Minimum temperature 50°. |
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| Source to Buy | Logees plant. Chilterns seeds. |
| http://tinyurl.com/cqzqt | |
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