Mucuna novo-guineensis -Flame of the Forest Vine

[Really full garden]

I just received some seeds of this vine.The flowers are reported to be even more spectacular (is that possible?) than Mucuna bennetti - Red Jade Vine.The seeds are sort of clam shaped and are 5cm long.I was surprised to see how big they were.The photo is of a seed on top of a tuna can for scale.

It would be great to hear experiences with this vine.I understand that they are easy to germinate and that they are difficult to transplant.

[palmsOrl]

Hi Scott,

I was scanning back and just noticed this thread. I know it's not really palm related, but I grow this vine myself. I got mine as a cutting and it has done very well though it gets a bit ratty in winter even though I bring it indoors periodically. I was under the impression Mucuna bennetti and Mucuna novo-guineensis were synonyms for the same plant. If not I want a novo-guineensis! I think they are the same though. I have germinated them and they are easy and take 1-2 months to germinate. How are yours coming along? I have mine in a 15" inch pot growing over a huge tomato cage attached in the pot. I hope it can flower with this fairly small amount of space. This would look great growing up a large, booted palm trunk. There the thread is relevant now! Any other experiences?

-Michael

[aussiearoids]

I think they are the same sp. also . There is a large one on the edge of a park in town and I got dozens of seeds from it a few months ago . They sprout very fast . Viability is only a week or so and they go off like a rocket when they start .

May be difficult to flower in a pot , as the vine gets very thick , couple of inches easily . They like lots of water .

[aussiearoids]

These really do best allowed to climb up high in a tree . Here you can see lots of flowers up high in these trees .

And an idea of how large this vine gets . They loop through the tree and often the vine has several racemes of flowers hanging down .

[popper1]

M. novo-guineensis will flower in a large pot, 7 gallon or more, on a 5' trellis. Not as impressive as in the ground but it is possible!

[Really full garden]

Thanks guys. According to FLOWERING VINES OF THE WORLD by Edwin Menninger Mucuna novo-guineensis is a separate and distinct species.I QUOTE "M.novo-guineensis which also has red flowers,deeper and brighter red than those of M.bennettii and more slender,about 3 inches long,and borne in very large clusters."

I was told that the racemes of flowers can be up to 1 m long and that the vine is very wind tolerant but has no salt tolerance at all.

All five of my seeds germinated in 7-10 days and have grown at an incredible rate.I have them in 5gal pots with 2m bamboo tripods.They get about 3 hours morning sun.I wanted to plant these in my new garden at 800m elevation.

I am now concerned how am I going to keep these monsters contained until I move?

[ariscott]

Thanks guys. According to FLOWERING VINES OF THE WORLD by Edwin Menninger Mucuna novo-guineensis is a separate and distinct species.I QUOTE "M.novo-guineensis which also has red flowers,deeper and brighter red than those of M.bennettii and more slender,about 3 inches long,and borne in very large clusters."

I was told that the racemes of flowers can be up to 1 m long and that the vine is very wind tolerant but has no salt tolerance at all.

All five of my seeds germinated in 7-10 days and have grown at an incredible rate.I have them in 5gal pots with 2m bamboo tripods.They get about 3 hours morning sun.I wanted to plant these in my new garden at 800m elevation.

I am now concerned how am I going to keep these monsters contained until I move?

Good luck Scott... if they are anything like M. bennettii, it is hard to contained them. I had 2 so far and kept on killing them trying to contain them. They don't respond to pruning very well, and for such a vigorous grower, I would hate to see what they would be like without pruning. So, I have decided I don't need them....

Regards, Ari