Bleeding Heart Vine
Scientific Name: Clerodendrum thomsoniae
Category: plant
Brief Description
A popular ornamental climbing vine known for its distinctive bicolored flowers featuring white heart-shaped calyxes and red petals.
Characteristics
Twining evergreen vine with dark green, ovate leaves. The flowers grow in clusters (cymes); each flower has a pure white, balloon-like calyx from which a bright crimson-red corolla emerges with long stamens.
Habitat
Tropical climates, often treated as a houseplant or greenhouse plant in temperate zones. It prefers moist, well-drained soil and partial shade.
When to Find It
Typically blooms from late spring through summer, though it can bloom year-round in warm, tropical environments.
Conservation Status
N/A
Ecological Role
Provides nectar for various pollinators, particularly long-tongued insects and hummingbirds attracted to the red flowers.
Easily Confused With
Clerodendrum speciosum (Java Glory Bean) which has pinkish-purple calyxes rather than white, and Dicentra spectabilis (Common Bleeding Heart) which is a herbaceous perennial with pendulous heart flowers, not a vine.
Observation Tips
Look for the vine climbing fences or trellises. To photograph, focus on the contrast between the white heart-shaped outer bell and the red inner flower.
Interesting Facts
Despite the common name 'Bleeding Heart,' it is not closely related to the Dicentra genus. It was named in honor of the wife of William Cooper Thomson, a 19th-century missionary and botanist in West Africa.
User Notes
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