''Solandra maxima'' is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...

in the

Solanaceae The Solanaceae , or nightshades, are a family of flowering plants that ranges from annual and perennial herbs to vines, lianas, epiphytes, shrubs, and trees, and includes a number of agricultural crops, medicinal plants, spices, weeds, and o ...

family. It is also known as cup of gold vine, golden chalice vine, or Hawaiian lily, is a vigorous

vine A vine ( Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners thems ...

which is endemic to

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

and

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

. It has very large yellow flowers and glossy leaves. It is often planted as an ornamental plant.

Description

It is a fast-growing, 12 m (40 ft) tall climbing vine, which is often pruned back in cultivation to a shrub with overhanging twigs. All parts of the plant are poisonous. The leaves are alternately arranged, broad-elliptical to oblong, 5-18 × 2-9 cm in size, leathery, glossy on top and usually short-

acuminate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular ...

Flowers

The funnel-shaped flowers are usually solitary. The

calyx Calyx or calyce (plural "calyces"), from the Latin ''calix'' which itself comes from the Ancient Greek ''κάλυξ'' (''kálux'') meaning "husk" or "pod", may refer to: Biology * Calyx (anatomy), collective name for several cup-like structures ...

is 5-8 cm long, pentagonal and consists of three to five cusps. The

corolla Corolla may refer to: *Corolla (botany), the petals of a flower, considered as a unit *Toyota Corolla, an automobile model name * Corolla (headgear), an ancient headdress in the form of a circlet or crown * ''Corolla'' (gastropod), a genus of moll ...

is 15-24 cm long and consists of large, rounded, 8-15 cm wide lobes. The flower is creamy white to light yellow at the start of flowering and changes color to ocher to orange during flowering. Violet or brown bands run deep into the flower tube across the center of the corolla. Five

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

s protrude from the flower tube. The flowers open in the evening, exuding a pungent scent. This attracts bats as pollinators. The fruits are round, up to 7 cm large berries on which the sepals are preserved. Solandra maxima flower

Image:CupOfGold1.JPG Image:CupOfGold2.JPG Image:Solandra maxima IMG 1811.JPG, Funchal: Botanical garden Solandra maxima A.jpg,

Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, an archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa which is part of Spain. the island had a population of that co ...

Solandra maxima 17zz.jpg,

Longwood Gardens Longwood Gardens is a botanical garden that consists of over 1,077 acres (436 hectares; 4.36 km2) of gardens, woodlands, and meadows in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, United States in the Brandywine Creek Valley. It is one of the premier ...

Kennett Square Kennett Square is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is known as the Mushroom Capital of the World because mushroom farming in the region produces over 500 million pounds of mushrooms a year, totaling half of the Un ...

, Pennsylvania Solandra maxima by Scott Zona - 003.jpg,

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is an botanic garden with extensive collections of rare tropical plants including palms, cycads, flowering trees, and vines. It is located in the city of Coral Gables, Miami-Dade County, just south of Miami, ...

, Miami, Florida 20210605 Hortus botanicus Leiden - Solandra maxima.jpg, Juvenile Solandra maxima flower

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q547962 Solanoideae Vines Flora of Mexico Flora of Central America Garden plants of Central America Garden plants of North America Taxa named by Martín Sessé y Lacasta Taxa named by José Mariano Mociño Taxa named by Michel Félix Dunal Taxa named by Peter Shaw Green