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Thunbergia alata
Also called Black-eyed Susan vine, Black Eyed Susan, Blackeyed Susan Clockvine
Black-eyed Susan vine is a fast-growing, twining climber (or trailing annual in cool areas) grown for its orange or yellow flowers, often with a dark centre. It is an invasive weed in parts of the Caribbean, Pacific islands and Japan, so check local rules before planting.
Thunbergia alata, commonly called black-eyed Susan vine, is a herbaceous perennial climbing plant species in the family Acanthaceae. It is native to Eastern Africa, and has been naturalized in other parts of the world.
It is grown as an ornamental plant in gardens and in hanging baskets. The name 'Black-eyed Susan' is thought to have come from a character that figures in many traditional ballads and songs. In the Ballad of Black-eyed Susan by John Gay, Susan goes aboard a ship in-dock to ask the sailors where her lover Sweet William has gone. Black-eyed Susan is also a name given to other species of flowers in the genus Rudbeckia.
Thunbergia alata seed is easy to germinate in humus-rich soil with some sand and it can be grown from cuttings. Soaking the seeds in a dish of warm water over night will help improve seed germination when planted. It is a fast grower, blooming quickly, with light trimming encouraging more blossoms. There are cultivars with red, orange, red-orange, white, pale yellow, or bright yellow flowers, with or without the characteristic chocolate-purple centre which inspires the common name.
The plant is originally from East Africa, and has almost a world distribution including tropical and subtropical areas like China, eastern Australia, Hawaii, Southern US in the states of Texas and Florida, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Mexico, South Africa, Portugal, Japan, New Zealand, Cerrado vegetation of Brazil, Argentina, Madagascar, India, Thailand and Philippines, among others.
Bush clockvine · Bengal trumpet · Golden Clockvine · Laurel clockvine · Mysore Trumpetvine · Blue Bell · Clockvines
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Thunbergia alata by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
