Pyrostegia Venusta – Orange Flame Vine

Pyrostegia venusta – orange flame vine

Pyrostegia Venusta has many names, Venusta Creeper, Orange Flame Vine, Venusta Flower, Vanestara Flower, Begonia Venusta, Flaming Trumpet Vine. It is grown as an ornamental climber that makes a dazzling spectacle when in full flower. An arbor, very sturdy chain link, fence, an espalier or roof-line make great places for it to climb up. It may also be grown as a lush ground cover or hillside stabilizer. Use climbers to cover or soften buildings, pergolas, archways and fences. Train up a post or tripod to add a third dimension to a border. With support, they may be also used as a substitute for hedges.

In full flower, this creeper is a breathtaking sight, cascading like a waterfall of orange trumpets. A very vigorous evergreen climber that climbs up to 6m or more with a spread of up to 2m. It flowers for many months, from soon after Christmas until winter. Can be grown as a screen against very hot surfaces, such as corrugated tin roofs. Also known as Bignonia Venusta, it is a member of the Bignonia family.

The compound leaves have two or three 2-3 in oval leaflets and are arranged in pairs opposite each other on the stem. Often, the center leaflet is modified into a coiled, three-parted tendril. Flaming Trumpet Vine branches profusely and climbs by clinging with its tendrils. The tubular flowers are about 3 in long and borne in clusters of 15-20 at the tips of branches. The corolla has five lobes which are bent backwards, and the long orange stamens and style extend beyond the tube. The flower clusters may hang down under the weight of their own beauty. Fruits are slender dry capsules about 1 ft long. Flaming trumpet is native to southern Brazil, northern Argentina and Paraguay.