Andalucia Life Fauna and Flora, Flowers of Andalucia Southern Spain

March 2007, Flame Vine - Pyrostegia venusta

If you are lucky enough to live in an area of Andalucia where winter temperatures do not normally drop below 100 C then this woody vine is ideal for growing up a wall, along a fence or on a pergola. Originally a native of tropical woodlands in South America the early Spanish explorers brought cuttings back to Spain and it is so widespread now that it is almost a native here. With its bunches of showy, tubular golden to orange flowers from February to April it is a welcome early splash of colour. The question of whether a plant is native or not is really a matter of time and it's ability to reproduce naturally. The method a plant adopts to move from one area of the world to another is immaterial, it may be by being carried by birds or animals, by currents in the oceans, or by humans on ships and aeroplanes, it is all natural.