Climbers
The ability to climb and scramble over the ground or other plants is the only characteristic shared by plants in this category.
Lonicera flava Sims
Half hardy, bushy, sometimes climbing, deciduous shrub with broadly elliptic leaves, to 8cm long, and terminal, spreading whorls of fragrant, yellow, later orange flowers, followed by red fruit, in spring and summer. To 2.5m. [RHSD, Hortus].
Lonicera implexa Ait.
Half hardy, semi-evergreen, twining honeysuckle with cream and white flowers, flushed pink on the outside, to 5cm long, borne in whorls at the ends of the shoots in early summer. To 2.4m. [RHSD, Hilliers’].
Lonicera japonica Thunb.
Fully hardy, vigorous, woody, evergreen or semi-evergreen, twining climber with paired, ovate, sometimes lobed leaves, to 8cm long, and axillary pairs of tubular, very fragrant, often purple-flushed, white flowers, to 4cm long, ageing to yellow, throughout the summer, followed by blue-black berries. To 10m. [RHSE, Hortus, Hilliers’].
Lonicera japonica Thunb. var. repens (Sieb.) Rehd.
See Lonicera japonica Thunb. for a description. Repens is a distinct variety with leaves and shoots flushed purple on the outside and very fragrant. [RHSD, Hilliers’].
Lonicera sempervirens L.
Fully hardy, woody, deciduous or evergreen, twining climber with paired, oval leaves, to 7cm long, and terminal whorls of tubular, rich scarlet-orange flowers, yellowish inside, to 5cm long, in summer and autumn, followed by red berries. To 4m. [RHSE, Hortus].
Lonicera sempervirens L. var. minor Ait.
See Lonicera sempervirens L. for a description of the type. The variety minor is an evergreen or semi-evergreen form with scarlet flowers. [Hortus].
Lophospermum ‘Hendersonii’
Unidentified species or variety but possibly a form of Maurandya barclaiana Lindl. which see. There are many colour forms of this plant.
Lophospermum erubescens D.Don
Tender evergreen climber with toothed, triangular leaves and rose-coloured flowers. [RHSD, Hortus]. See also Lophospermum scandens D.Don.
Lophospermum scandens D.Don
Frost tender evergreen perennial climber, deciduous in cool climates, with slightly hairy leaves and trumpet-shaped flowers with rose-purple corolla and white tube, in summer and autumn. To 3m or more. [RHSD, Hortus].
Mandevilla crassinoda (Gardn.) Woodson.
Frost-tender, vigorous twining climber with lustrous leaves and racemes of deep rose-pink, funnel-shaped flowers in summer. [RHSD].
Mandevilla laxa (Ruiz. & Pav.) Woodson
Frost-tender, vigorous, freely branching, woody-stemmed, twining climber with pointed oblong leaves, to 10cm long, and racemes of 5-15 tubular, strongly fragrant, white flowers, to 9cm across, in summer and autumn. To 5m. [RHSE, Hilliers’].
Mandevilla longiflora (Desf.) Pichon
Frost-tender evergreen climber with white flowers in summer. To 2m.
Mandevilla splendens (Hook.) Woodson
Tender, tuberous rooted herbaceous climber with broad leaves and white flowers, suffused with pink. There are a number of garden forms with more brightly coloured flowers. [RHSD, Hortus].
Manettia cordifolia Mart. var. glabra
Frost tender, vigorous climber with lance-shaped leaves, to 8cm long, and tubular, brilliant red to deep orange flowers, to 5cm long, sometimes yellow-flushed at the lobes, borne singly or in leafy panicles from late winter to summer. To 4m. In the variety glabra the segments of the calyx are narrower than in the type. [RHSE, Hortus, Don].
Maurandya barclaiana Lindl.
Half hardy, erect, free-flowering climber with tubular flowers in shades of pink and purple with white and green tints, in summer and autumn. Most early depictions of the plant show the flowers as a vibrant purple. To 5m. [RHSE, Hortus].
