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Thunbergia alata
Acanthaceae FAMILY

Thunbergia alata

Thunbergia alata

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial Climber
Growth—

A plant of the tropics, it is widely grown as an ornamental from the warm temperate zone (where it is grown as an annual) to most areas in the tropics. Grows best in a sunny position[1]. Prefers a well-drained soil[1]. Succeeds in most well-drained soils[2]. Grown as an ornamental in many parts of the world, the plant is heavily self-seeding, often escaping from cultivation and becoming naturalized as a minor weed, though it does not spread readily[1]. In warm climates the plant can flower and produce seed all year round[1].

Propagation

Seed - Cuttings. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Thunbergia+alata>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Tropical Ornamentals; A Guide — Whistler. W. Arthur. · Timber Press Inc. Oregon. · 2000 · ISBN 0-88192-448-2 ↩︎An excellent little guide to some of the more commonly cultivated ornamental plants of the Tropics, often giving some information on the plants other uses.
  2. [2]Tropical Flowering Plants. A Guide to Identification and Cultivation. — Llamas K.A. · Timber Press; Oregon. · 2003 · ISBN 0-88192-585-3 ↩︎A terse guide for the gardener to almost 1,500 species of ornamental tropical plants with brief details on their cultivation and, usually, a small photograph of good quality.
  3. [3]African Flowering Plants Database — Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques. · http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php ↩︎Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map.
  4. [4]Flora of Tropical East Africa — Beentje H.J. · Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. · 2002 · http://plants.jstor.org/search?st=396814 ↩︎Available on-line, a modern flora of East Africa.
  5. [5]Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. — http://www.prota.org ↩︎An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
  6. [6]The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. — Burkil. H. M. · Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. · 1985 - 2004 ↩︎Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/