Vesalea floribunda, also known as Mexican abelia,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae. It is a shrub native to southern Mexico, ranging from central Veracruz to northern Oaxaca and southeastern Chiapas.[1]

Vesalea floribunda
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Dipsacales
Family: Caprifoliaceae
Genus: Vesalea
Species:
V. floribunda
Binomial name
Vesalea floribunda
Varieties[1]
  • Vesalea floribunda var. floribunda
  • Vesalea floribunda var. foliacea (Villarreal) Landrein
Synonyms[1]
  • Abelia floribunda (M.Mart. & Galeotti) Decne. (1846)
  • Linnaea floribunda (M.Mart. & Galeotti) A.Braun & Vatke (1872)

Growing to 4 m (13 ft) tall and broad, it is a semi-evergreen or evergreen shrub with shiny ovate leaves and clusters of tubular cerise flowers to 5 cm (2.0 in) long. The flowers bloom year-round (in the wild) except in the spring. It fruits (produces a seed pod) year-round (in the wild) except May and June.

Its natural habitat is mixed pine and oak forests and on rocky outcrops at 2,000 to 3,000 m (6,600 to 9,800 ft) elevation.[2]

Two varieties are accepted.[1]

  • Vesalea floribunda var. floribunda (synonyms Abelia hirsuta (M.Martens & Galeotti) Walp. and Abelia speciosa Decne.) – central Veracruz to northern Oaxaca and southeastern Chiapas
  • Vesalea floribunda var. foliacea (Villarreal) Landrein – southeastern Chiapas

Though hardy down to −10 °C (14 °F), it prefers a sheltered location, for instance against a south-facing stone wall.[2]

It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[3][4]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d "Vesalea floribunda M.Martens & Galeotti". Plants of the World Online. The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. n.d. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Vesalea floribunda - Trees and Shrubs Online". treesandshrubsonline.org. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  3. ^ "Vesalea floribunda". www.rhs.org. RHS. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  4. ^ "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). www.rhs.org. Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 107. Retrieved 18 February 2019.