JADE VINE. KNOWN AS TAYABAK

The pale green foliage consists of three leaflets. The claw-shaped flowers are carried in pendent trusses or pseudoracemes of 75 or more flowers and can reach as much as 3 m long. The turquoise flower color is similar to some forms of the minerals turquoise and jade, varying from blue-green to mint green.[citation. The short, oblong, fleshy seedpods are up to 15 cm long and contain up to 12 seeds.

Strongylodon macrobotrys, commonly known as jade vine, emerald vine or turquoise jade vine, is a species of leguminous perennial liana (woody vine), a native of the tropical forests of the Philippines, with stems that can reach up to 18 m in length. Its local name is Tayabak. A member of the Fabaceae (the pea and bean family), it is closely related to beans such as kidney bean and runner bean. Strongylodon macrobotrys is pollinated by birds and bats.

Strongylodon macrobotrys is not frost-tolerant; it needs a minimum temperature of 15 °C (59 °F). It is prized in tropical and subtropical gardens for its showy flowers which are a highly unusual colour, unlike that of almost any other plant. It is usually grown over a pergola or other tall support to display the spectacular cascading flower trusses which are produced generously once the vine is mature (after 2 years or more, depending on pruning regime). Curiously, on a large plant, the pale-coloured blooms can be difficult to see in strong sunlight and could be overlooked if not for the fallen blooms below the vine. Fallen blooms change color as they dry out, from mint green to blue-green to purple.

In South Africa the jade vine is mainly restricted to the warm humid strip of coastal Natal but grows in a few frost-free spots inland.

In colder latitudes the plant must be grown in a large glasshouse or conservatory, such as the famous examples grown at Kew Gardens, Cambridge University Botanic Garden and the Eden Project in the UK. In cultivation the plant flowers in early spring. In the USA a jade vine can be found at the Naples Botanical Garden, Longwood Gardens, Franklin Park Conservatory, The New York Botanical Gardens and Nicholas Conservatory and Gardens. In Florida, it is at the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden and in Hawaii at the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden.

I photographed this exotic topical flower at the Wahiawa Botanical Garden, Oahu, Hawaii.
Darcy K. Butcher Photography