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Magazine
Eyecatching purple
Eyecatching display ... the Arrabidaea magnificia Sprague.
IN November last year, the grounds of the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, looked splendid. The plant Arrabidaea magnifica Sprague (Bigonia magnifica Bull) was in bloom and wherever you looked, there were purple flowers.
A beautiful climber that flowers profusely in early summer and winter, it originated in Columbia and is now widely distributed in subtropical regions. The flowers are borne in large clusters of 15 to 24 units, with each unit maturing at different times although flowering during the same season. Large and trumpet shaped, the flowers are rosy purple to purplish mauve with five expanded lobes. They take eight to 12 days to bloom and remain open for about two days.
The plant grows quickly and has broad leaves, that are a dull green, with two leaflets. It is suitable as a screen plant or on a pergola. It can also be grown on a lawn. Propogation is by using layers.
Text and picture by
DEEPU MATHEW
AMJATH BABU T.S.
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