Combretum fruticosum
The size of the plant and of its bag can vary a little from the photograph — each one grows at its own pace. We keep them as consistent as we can.
Overview
Papamiel is a native vine that covers itself in brush-shaped flowers, orange and yellow, so full of nectar that hummingbirds can't stay away. It grows fast and can climb to the tops of trees, or be kept as a shrub by pruning. It's native from southern Mexico to Argentina, Costa Rica included. If you want hummingbirds in your garden, plant a papamiel.
Culture
- Habit
- Climber
- Height
- 0.00 m
- Growth Rate
- Fast
- Cultivation Status
- Ornamental, Wild
It grows in dry or wet thickets and forests below 1,200 meters, so it adapts to very different conditions. It grows fast and responds very well to pruning: let it climb a tree or pergola, or trim it into a medium shrub. Planting distance: 3–5 m.
Edible Uses
It isn't eaten, but cut stems release plenty of sap that can be drunk when water runs short.
Medicinal
No documented medicinal uses are known.
Traditional uses for information only. Not a substitute for advice from a health professional.
Agroforestry
A support liana with a secondary life cycle that reaches the emergent stratum by climbing trees. Its great value is for pollinators: its flowers feed hummingbirds and insects. Its stems are used in basketry.