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Macfadyena unguis-cati

(Cat's Claw, Catclawvine, Cats Claw, Claw Vine, Yellow Trumpet Vine)

Overview

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Ornamental vine from Central America.

Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Afrikaans:

Katteklouranker

Common Names in English:

Cat´s Claw Creeper, Cat´s-Claw, Cat's Claw, Catclaw-Creeper, Catclaw-Trumpet, Catclawvine, Cats Claw, Claw Vine, Funnel-Creeper, Macfadyena, Yellow Trumpet Vine

Description

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Family Bignoniaceae

Trees , shrubs , or vines , climbers rarely herbs. Leaves opposite, alternate, or whorled , simple or pinnately compound , rarely palmately compound , without stipules, climbers usually with tendrils modified sometimes into hooks or suckers . Inflorescences cymose , paniculate , or racemose, terminal or axillary , rarely flowers borne on old stems; bracts and bractlets present, sometimes deciduous. Flowers bisexual , zygomorphic, usually large. Calyx campanulate or tubular , truncate , 2-5-dentate, or glandular subulate-dentate. Corolla campanulate or funnelform , usually bilabiate; lobes 5, imbricate or valvate . Fertile stamens 4 (didynamous ) and staminode 1, or 2 and staminodes 3, rarely all 5 stamens fertile. Disc fleshy . Ovary superior, 2-locular, rarely 1- or 4-locular; placentation axile or parietal ; ovules numerous . Style filiform ; stigma 2-lobed. Capsule dehiscing loculicidally or septicidally, rarely fruit fleshy and indehiscent. Seeds numerous, usually winged or with tufts of hairs at both ends; endosperm absent.

About 116-120 genera and 650-750 species: mostly in tropical and subtropical regions; 12 genera and 35 species (21 endemic) in China.

Plants of the Bignoniaceae usually produce large flowers, and many species are widely cultivated in China as ornamentals . These include Arrabidaea magnifica Sprague ex Steenis, Campsis radicans (Linnaeus) Seemann, Catalpa speciosa (Warder ex Barney) Engelmann, Clytostoma callistegioides (Chamisso) Bureau & Schumann, Crescentia alata Kunth, C. cujete Linnaeus, Jacaranda cuspidifolia Martius, J. mimosifolia D. Don, Kigelia africana (Lamarck) Bentham, Macfadyena unguis-cati (Linnaeus) A. H. Gentry, Pandorea jasminoides (Linnaeus) Schumann, Parmetiera cerifera Seemann, Podranea ricasoliana (Tanfani) Sprague, Pyrostegia venusta (Ker-Gawler) Miers, Spathodea campanulata Beauvois, Stenolobium stans (Linnaeus) Seemann, Tabebuia chrysantha (Jacquin) G. Nicholson, T. rosea (Bertoloni) de Candolle, and Tecomaria capensis (Thunberg) Spach.Zhi-Yun Zhang & Thawatchai Santisuk "Bignoniaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 18 Page 213. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org.

Physical Description

Habit: Climbing

Flowers: Bloom Period: March, April, May. • Flower Color: Yellow • Flower Conspicuous: Trumpet shaped

Foliage: Glossy • Foliage Shape: OvalNormal foliage color: Green • Underside foliage: Green • Juvenile foliage: Green • Mature foliage: Green • New foliage: Green • Spring foliage: Green • Summer foliage: Green • Fall foliage: Green

Size/Age/Growth

Growth Rate: Fast Growing • Size: Fast grower, stems to 20 to 25 ft . long.

Landscaping

Care: Follow a regular watering schedule during the first growing season to establish a deep, extensive root system. Feed with a general purpose fertilizer . Provide support such as a trellis or arbor . Prune annually to control size.

Biology

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Growth

Culture: Space 20-30' apart.

Soil: Minimum pH: 6.1 • Maximum pH: 7.8

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full sun

Moisture: Drought Tolerance: High • Water Requirements: Once established needs only occasional water.

Temperature: Heat Zones: High: 12 (>210 days) Low:5 (>30 to 45 days) (map) • Cold Hardiness: High:11 (Above 40 F) Low:9 (20 to 30 F) (map)

Taxonomy

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Unambiguous Synonyms

  1. Batocydia unguis-cati (L.) Mart. ex Britt.
  2. Bignonia unguis-cati L.
  3. Doxantha unguis-cati (L.) Miers

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 15-Mar-2000.

Place of publication : Brittonia 25:236. 1973

Name verified on 25-Feb-1986 by ARS Systematic Botanists. Last updated: 20-Nov-1998

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Macfadyena

There are approximately 43 species in this genus:

M. amanda · M. amazonica · M. bangii · M. bifolia · M. bipinnata · M. bracteosa · M. citrifolia · M. coccinea · M. coito · M. corymbosa · M. cynanchoides · M. dentata · M. diffusa · M. dolichandra · M. fallax · M. fenzliana · M. fockeana · M. guatemalensis · M. guttiflua · M. hassleri · M. hispida · M. japurensis · M. laurifolia · M. lepidota · M. mollis · M. obovata · M. orinocensis · M. ovata · M. phellosperma · M. platypoda · M. podopogon · M. pubescens · M. riparia · M. simplicifolia · M. stipuloidea · M. terniflora · M. tweediana · M. uncata · M. uncinata · M. undulata · M. ungis-cati · M. unguis-cati (Cat's Claw) · M. violacea

Bibliography

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More Info

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 01, 2008:

Identifiers

Footnotes

Last Revised: 2008-08-11