Native Plants
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Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
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Monday - August 07, 2006
From: Toronto, ON
Region: Canada
Topic: Non-Natives
Title: Non-native Merremia tuberosa
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
Respected Sir, I have been trying to find the scientific name and a sapling of a plant which had "flowers that look like rose flowers but are brown in color and have a paper like texture"---I have seen these florals in India(Western region), we friends called them "woodroses".I don't think they had any fragrance.I have seen these at least about15-16 years back--when I was a school kid. I simply remember them as they did not wilt, now I want them in my backyard.Could you please help me identify this plant/tree and where can I get a sapling of this? I shall be extremelt grateful to you forever for this help---please help me. Thank you for your time.ANSWER:
You must be talking about Merremia tuberosa, a vine from tropical America. Synonyms for this plant are: Ipomoea tuberosa and Operculina tuberosa. It is the dry fruits, not the flowers, that look like roses. If you do a Google search on the botanical name, you will find a number of sources, such as Aloha Tropicals, for seeds or plants.More Non-Natives Questions
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