96-THUNBERGIA ALATA Boj. Ex
Local name: Black-eyed Susan vine
Family: Acanthaceae
Location: Fruit orchard.
Characters: Thunbergia alata has a vine habit, and can grow to a height of 5 metres (16 ft) high in warmer zones, or much less as a container plant or as an annual. It has twining stems with heart or arrow-shaped leaves. The three and a half to seven and a half centimeters long and two and a half centimeters wide leaves are triangular to heart-shaped. Their edges are wavy and both surfaces are hairy. The leaf blades sit on up to six and a half centimeters long petioles, which attach at a distance of four and a half to 13 centimeters on the one to one and a quarter millimeter thick stem axis.
General use: Trellises, arbors, fences or other structures around the home. Also effective in hanging baskets where the vine can twist around the basket supports or in patio containers with a small trellis in the container. Suitable for use as a temporary or annual ground cover.