![]() We enjoyed an abundance of fragrant flowers all summer long, and are so excited to offer this incredible and wonderful vining plant! Rare and hard to find."įlowers are a solid, pale purple. 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.
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