According to Baker Creek Rare Seeds, "This vining member of the bean family is one of the most intriguing plants that we’ve ever grown! The uniquely shaped flowers actually resemble small snails! The fragrance of these distinct blooms is thought to be reminiscent of hyacinths, and Thomas Jefferson called this plant 'The most beautiful bean in the world.' Perennial in its native region of Central and South America, snail vine is typically grown as an annual in areas that experience frost. The snail vine, Phaseolus giganteus, is delightfully fragrant. caracalla is pollinated by bees in Argentine, which is its native range. It is said that both plants are pollinated by ants so, without ants, the plant will produce few, if any, seeds, although C. There have been multiple instances where both plants have been grown side by side for years and the discovery that they were not the same species was made only after the less mature plant finally bloomed. Though some claim that the leaves of one species are darker and differently sized compared to the leaves of the other, it is difficult to distinguish between these two plants through foliage alone. The multicolored, fragrant, non-invasive flowers of the Cochliasanthus caracalla are said to have corkscrew or nautilus-shell shaped flowers, hence the origin of that common name. The purple, non-fragrant, invasive flowers of the " Phaseolus giganteus" are said to have snail or snail-shell shaped flowers, hence the origin of the common name. Thomas Jefferson called this plant "the most beautiful bean in the world". The other, also called " Phaseolus giganteus" (a horticultural name, not validly published), appears to be Vigna speciosa or a close relative. One plant is the true Cochliasanthus caracalla. Two very different plant species are sold and cultivated under this one name. It is the only member of the genus Cochliasanthus and was formerly considered to belong to the genus Vigna. This perennial vine (when grown in a climate without frost) has fragrant flowers said to be reminiscent of hyacinths - with a distinctive curled shape, giving rise to the common names corkscrew vine, snail vine, snail creeper, snailflower or snail bean. The species is named caracalla, a corruption of the Portuguese caracol, meaning snail. Caracallae (DC.) Maréchal et al.Ĭochliasanthus caracalla is a leguminous flowering plant in the family Fabaceae that originates in tropical South America and Central America. The common name for this plant in East Texas is Margil's Vine, referencing a legend involving Antonio Margil OFM, the Spanish Franciscan missionary active throughout Texas in the early 18th century. Through photochemical analysis using spectral and mixed-melting comparison, the stems and leaves of Cocculus carolinus were found to contain the following compounds: two cyclitols, (+) quercitol and (−) viburnitol a lactone, loliolide and three alkaloids, sinoacutine, magnoflorine, and palmatine. This plant can be fast-growing and difficult to eradicate. Admiring its scarlet fruits, landscapers sometimes allow it to grow on trellises, fences or let it naturally spread among other weeds and shrubs. The plant blooms in late spring and the fruits, abundant bright red berries, are mature by late summer. Seeds germinate in 21 to 30 days at 68 ☏. The seeds need cold stratification of three months. At a young age Carolina coralbead appear greenish.
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