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Mussaenda erythrophylla Schumach. & Thonn.
Synonym: Mussaenda splendida
Welw.
RUBIACEAE
Local Names
: Red Mussaenda.
Flowering Period : December to June.
Distribution : Native of tropical Africa
Uses: Ornamental
Exotic : Yes.
An
ornamental shrub or tree that can reach a height of 30 ft, though in
cultivation ranges from 3 to 10 feet tall. A semi-deciduous rambling shrub with
multiple stems, covered with opposite leaves that are medium to dark green,
round to ovate. It flowers almost non-stop through the year with several
flowers borne in branching terminal panicles. Each flower is composed of a
small creamish white corolla that is five-lobed, funnel-shaped with a
crimson-red felt center, together with a single roundish-ovate and enlarged
bright red sepal (bract).