Cup and saucer vine (Cobaea scandens)

Cup and saucer vine or cathedral bells (Cobaea scandens) is a species of plant in the Polemoniaceae, a perennial herb, a plant that climbs or spreads on the ground, is independent, has cup-shaped flowers, cylindrical fruit, grows in forests, agricultural land, roadsides and abandoned lands.

C. scandens has oval-shaped leaves, leaves up to 10 cm long, up to 6 cm wide, sharp tip, asymmetrical base, twigs consisting of four leaves and tendrils equipped with small hooks to attach to supports. Leaf stalk 1 cm long.

Flowers are wide cupped or bell shaped and face forward, up to 5.5 cm wide, up to 8 cm long, pistil and stalk up to 6 cm long, purple or white in color, mature flowers are aromatic and are pollinated by bats. The fruit is a cylindrical capsule, up to 8 cm long and up to 4 cm wide, green with white spots.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Ericales
Family: Polemoniaceae
Genus: Cobaea
Species: Cobaea scandens

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