Tecoma
(an abridgment of the Mexican name, Tecomaxochitl). Trumpet Creeper; Trumpet Flower. Including Campsidium and Pandorea. ORD. Bignoniaceae. A genus embracing about two dozen species of stove, greenhouse, or hardy, erect and arborescent, twining, climbing, or radicant shrubs, dispersed over the warmer and sub-temperate regions of the globe. Flowers often fulvous, red, or orange, racemose or panicled at the tips of the branches; calyx tubular-campanulate, sub-equally five-toothed; corolla tube elongated, straight or incurved, sometimes slightly enlarged or sub-ventricose, sometimes dilated in an ample, campanulate throat; limb sub-bilabiate, the five lobes scarcely unequal, broad, erectopatent or widely spreading; stamens four, didynamous, affixed below the middle of the tube, included or exserted. Capsule linear or narrowly elliptic, often acute at both ends, straight or incurved. Leaves opposite or rarely scattered, pinnate or undivided; leaflets often toothed. Tecomas succeed best in well-drained, loamy soil; they require very liberal supplies of water during summer, but should be kept moderately dry at the roots in winter. The plants grow vigorously under ordinary treatment; but, in order to insure their free flowering, the wood must be thoroughly ripened by being exposed to sunlight and air during the period of growth. The stove species may be grown in heat all the summer, and ripened by being kept cooler in autumn. Those succeeding in a greenhouse may have plenty of light and air through the summer. T. radicans, when planted out of doors, should be trained to a wall with a south aspect. Propagation is effected by root-cuttings, by cuttings of the young or partially-ripened shoots, or by layering. A selection of the best-known species is given below. Several others, formerly included here, will be found under Tabebuia.
T. australis (Southern).* Wonga-Wonga Vine. fl. in loose, terminal panicles; corolla yellowish-white, tinged inside with purple or red, the tube 1/2in. to 3/4in. long, the lobes broad, not one-third as long as the tube. June. l., leaflets usually five to nine, ovate-oblong to almost linear, entire or here and there coarsely crenate, variable, 1in. to 3in. long. Australia, 1793. A tall, woody, half-hardy climber. (B. 8.) SYNS. T. diversifolia, Bignonia Pandorea (A. B. R. 86; B. M. 865).
T. austro-caledonica (South Caledonian). fl. small; cymes opposite, compound; panicles terminal. Summer. l. imparipinnate, two or three-jugate, the upper ones trifoliolate; leaflets very broadly elliptic, obtuse, with two to four teeth below the acumen, sometimes nearly round. New Caledonia, 1870. A graceful climber.
T. capensis (Cape).* fl. clustered, in pedunculate racemes; corolla orange-scarlet, 2in. long, incurved; stamens exserted. August. l. imparipinnate, four-jugate; leaflets ovate, serrated. h. 15ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1823. A half-hardy, glabrous climber. (B. R. 1117; L. B. C. 1672.)
T. chrysantha (golden-flowered). A synonym of Tabebuia chrysantha.
T. diversifolia (variable-leaved). A synonym of T. australis.
T. filicifolium (Fern-leaved).* l. opposite, imparipinnate, 5in. long, including the petioles, bearing considerable resemblance to the fronds of some of the small, slender, pinnate Ferns; leaflets nine to twelve pairs, small, ovate, deeply cut into two or three lobes on each side, the larger lobes being sometimes also toothed. Stem slight, woody. Fiji Islands, 1874. A very elegant, stove climber. SYN. Campsidium filicifolium (F. & P. 1874, p. 280).
T. fulva (fulvous). fl. on bibracteate pedicels, seven to nine in a raceme; corolla fulvous outside, yellow within, 1 1/2in. long. July. l. scattered, imparipinnate, multijugate; leaflets cuneate-ovate, sub-sessile, serrated at apex, villous when young, afterwards glabrous; petioles articulated. Branches terete, glabrous. h. 15ft. Peru, 1855. An erect, stove shrub. (B. M. 4896; F. d. S. 1116.)
T. grandiflora (large-flowered).* fl. in a terminal panicle; corolla scarlet, shorter and broader than that of T. radicans, the tube scarcely longer than the calyx; pedicels drooping, biglandular. July. l. imparipinnate; leaflets three to five-jugate, ovate, acuminate, with tooth-like serratures. h. 30ft. Japan and China, 1800. A glabrous, greenhouse climber. SYN. Bignonia grandiflora (A. B. R. 493; B. M. 1398; F. d. S. 1124-25). T. jasminioides (Jasmine-like).* fl. in compact, terminal, corymbose panicles; corolla white, streaked with red in the throat, the tube above 1in. long, the very broad lobes more than 1/2in. long. August. l., leaflets usually five or seven, ovate and acuminate or ovate-lanceolate, 1in. to 2in. long, all entire. h. 20ft. Australia. A glabrous, greenhouse climber. (B. M. 4004; B. R. 2002; P. M. B. vi. 199.)
T. mirabilis (wonderful). A garden synonym of T. valdiviana.
T. mollis (soft). fl. in a terminal panicle; corolla yellow or reddish. July. l. imparipinnate; leaflets four-jugate (in some forms, the upper leaves only one or two-jugate), oblong, acuminate, nearly entire, slightly serrated at apex, velvety on both sides. Branches compressed-terete. h. 6ft. Mexico, Colombia, Peru, and Chili, 1824. A softly pubescent-tomentose, erect, greenhouse shrub.
T. radicans (rooting).* Common Trumpet Flower. fl. in terminal corymbs; corolla scarlet-red, 2in. to 3in. long, the tube thrice as long as the calyx. Summer. fr. stipitate, 3 1/2in. long. l. imparipinnate; leaflets four or five-jugate, ovate, acuminate, dentateserrate, puberulous at the sides of the nerves beneath. h. 25ft. North America, 1640. A hardy shrub, climbing by aerial rootlets. See Fig. 11. SYN. Bignonia radicans (B. M. 485). The variety minor has narrower flowers of a beautiful scarlet colour.
T. rosaefolia (Rose-leaved). fl. in terminal, sub-spicate racemes; corolla yellow, glabrous, funnel-shaped. July. l. imparipinnate; leaflets bijugate, oblong, obtuse, serrated. Branches terete, somewhat striated. h. 6ft. South America. An erect, stove shrub.
T. sambucifolia (Elder-leaved). fl. in a terminal panicle; corolla yellow, funnel-shaped. July. l. imparipinnate; leaflets two or three-jugate, oblong, acuminate, serrated. Branches slightly compressed. h. 6ft. Peru, 1824. A glabrous, erect, stove shrub.
T. serratifolia (serrate-leaved). A synonym of Tabebuia serratifolia. T. spectabilis (showy). A synonym of Tabebuia spectabilis.
T. stans (standing). Yellow Elder. fl. racemose or paniculate; corolla yellow, 1 1/2in. long. Summer. l. imparipinnate; leaflets five to eleven, lanceolate, acuminate, deeply serrated. Branches terete. h. 12ft. West Indies and Mexico to Peru, &c., 1730. An erect, glabrous, greenhouse shrub. (B. M. 3191.)
T. s. apiifolia (Apium-leaved). l., leaflets deeply incised, nearly pinnatifid. Mexico. Stove. SYN. Bignonia incisa (of gardens).
T. undulata (waved). fl., corolla orange-coloured, ample, campanulate; racemes few-flowered, terminating the lateral branchlets. Summer. l. petiolate, simple, linear-lanceolate, obtuse, undulated, entire, often nearly alternate, 6in. to 7in. long; petioles nearly 1in. long. India and Arabia. A tall, erect, glabrous, stove shrub. SYN. Bignonia undulata (S. E. B. 19).
T. valdiviana (Valdivian). fl. four to nine in simple, terminal racemes; corolla orange-coloured, villous within towards the base. Spring. l. imparipinnate; leaflets nine to fifteen, ovateoblong or elliptic, often mucronate, the margins toothed or nearly entire, pale beneath. Branches angular. Chili, 1870. A climbing, stove shrub. SYNS. T. mirabilis (of gardens), Campsidium chilense (G. C. 1870, 1182).