Three Kings Vine
Found this growing in our "new" garden. Although apparently now quite a common cultivated climber in Auckland gardens, I'd never seen it before. The Wiki write-up (pasted below) is quite interesting, apparently came very close to extinction at one point.
Apologies for the annoying trellis in the background. I'm hoping I will find a flower with a better background one day soon. This is just the beginning of its flowering season.
A solitary plant of Tecomanthe speciosa or the Three Kings Vine was first discovered on the Three Kings Islands, 55 km off the northern tip of New Zealand, during a scientific survey in 1945. No other specimens have ever been found in the wild. Tecomanthe is a tropical genus not otherwise represented in New Zealand. Four other species of Tecomanthe occur in Queensland, Indonesia, New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands.
Although the plant may once have been common on the Three Kings, by the time of its discovery goats that had been introduced to the islands had reduced the entire population to a single specimen on Great Island, making it one of the world’s most endangered plants. The remaining specimen grew on a cliff that was so steep, that even the goats could not reach it. It was rescued by horticulturalists who took cuttings from the original plant and goats were subsequently eradicated from the island. The original specimen still grows in the wild, and has developed more vines through the natural process of layering in the years since its discovery.
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- Samsung SM-G920F
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