Black-eyed Susan vine (Thunbergia alata)

Susana or black-eyed Susan vine (Thunbergia alata) is a species of plant in the Acanthaceae, perennial vines, stems wrapped around other plants up to 5 meters long in warmer zones, heart or arrow-shaped leaves.

T. alata has cylindrical stems with linear angles, branched, green or reddish, full of white hairs 1-2 mm long, creeping on the ground or wrapped around other plants for vertical climbing.

Leaves heart or arrow-shaped, 3-8 cm long, 3 cm wide, wavy edges, both surfaces hairy. The leaf blades sit on the stalk, 6 cm long and attach at a distance of 4-13 cm on the axis of the stem and are 1 cm thick.

Star flowers, mostly yellow to orange, 5 petals and 8 cm long inflorescence axis. The crown tube is 2 cm long in the middle and is black-purple in color. The single flower has 2 bracts, triangular to oblong in shape, hairs that taper outward, 18-20 mm long and 9-10 mm wide.

Petals serrated, 2 mm long, 15-17 lobe-shaped awl. The crown tube is 4 cm long and shows 5 large crown lobes measuring 2 cm in diameter with a capillary bud on the outside. The fruit has a length of 16-18 mm, smooth hair, 7 mm in diameter. Four seeds and 3.5 mm. Seeds germinate easily in humus-rich soil with little sand.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Lamiales
Family: Acanthaceae
Subfamily: Thunbergioideae
Genus: Thunbergia
Species: Thunbergia alata

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