Tropaeolum tricolor

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Rosids
Cladus: Eurosids II
Ordo: Brassicales

Familia: Tropaeolaceae
Genus: Tropaeolum
Sectio: T. sect. Chilensia
Species: Tropaeolum tricolor
Name

Tropaeolum tricolor Sweet (1828)
Synonyms

Homotypic
Chymocarpus tricolor (Sweet) Heynh., Nomencl. Bot. Hort. 1: 195. 1840.
Trophaeum tricolor (Sweet) Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 1: 97. 1891.

Heterotypic
Chymocarpus jarattii (Youell ex Paxton) Heynh., Nomencl. Bot. Hort. 1: 195. 1840.
Tropaeolum coccineum Hughes, Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1922: 80, 81 fig. C. 1922.
Tropaeolum elegans G.Don, Gen. Hist. 1: 747. 1831.
Tropaeolum incrassatum Steud., Flora 39: 439. 1856.
Tropaeolum jarratii Youell ex Paxton, Paxton's Mag. Bot. 5: 29: 1838.
Tropaeolum subincrassatum Steud., Nomencl. Bot., ed. 2. 2: 721. 1841.
Tropaeolum tricolor var. aurantiacum C.Morren, Ann. Soc. Roy. Agric. Gand 4: 261, t. 207. 1848.
Tropaeolum tricolor var. grandiflorum C.Morren, Ann. Soc. Roy. Agric. Gand 4: 261, t. 207. 1848.
Tropaeolum tricolor var. grandiflorum Reinecke ex Walp., Allg. Gartenzeitung 12: 146. 1844.
Tropaeolum tricolor var. majus Marmock, Floric. Mag. & Misc. Gard. 59. 1837.
Tropaeolum tricolor var. schultzii Regel, Gartenflora 13: 67, t. 428. 1864.
Tropaeolum tricolor var. splendens Barnéoud in Gay, Fl. Chil. 1: 411. 1845.
Tropaeolum tricolor var. venustum Paxton ex Otto, Allg. Gartenzeitung 17: 306. 1849.
Tropaeolum violaceum Steud., Flora 39(28): 440. 1856.
Trophaeum elegans (G.Don) Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 1: 97. 1891.
Trophaeum incrassatum (Steud.) Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 1: 97. 1891.
Trophaeum jarattii (Youell ex Paxton) Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 1: 97. 1891.

Notes

The combination Tropaeolum tricolor var. jarratii (yarratii) attributed to Lemaire (Fl. Serres Jard. Eur. 4: t. 369. 184) is sometimes cited. However, Lemaire makes no such combination in that publication.
References

Sweet, R. 1828: British Flower Garden 3: t. 270. "tricolorum"
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Tropaeolum tricolor in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 09-Oct-10.

Vernacular names
English: Three-coloured Indian cress

Tropaeolum tricolor, the three-coloured Indian cress or Chilean nasturtium, is a species of perennial plant in the family Tropaeolaceae. It is endemic to Chile,[1] where it is called soldadito rojo and relicario.

Description

Tropaeolum tricolor is a summer-dormant climber which flowers from winter to spring.[2] It has thin, straggly stems growing from a reddish coloured root tuber and extending up to 2 or 3 metres (6 ft 7 in or 9 ft 10 in). The leaves are peltate (with the stalk in the centre), nearly circular with five or six deeply cut lobes. The numerous flowers are borne singly on long wiry stalks growing from the axils of the leaves. They are narrowly funnel-shaped and about 3 centimetres (1.2 in) long. The five sepals are red, orange or yellow tipped with a purple band, and extending backwards in a red spur. The small, greenish-yellow rounded petals have a clawed base. The sepals turn brown after the flowers fall and enclose the two or three, dark brown seeds.[1]
Distribution and habitat

Three-coloured Indian cress grows in the cloud forest on the coastal mountains of northern Chile at 300 to 900 metres (980 to 2,950 ft). Further south it grows in inland temperate forests in the central and Los Lagos regions at varying heights.[1] Here it grows on level ground or north facing slopes in full sun or dappled shade. It can endure periods of drought of up to 10 months in the summer.[3] The tubers are well buried and are hardy down to a temperature of about −8 °C (18 °F) and can tolerate short periods of snow cover.[3]
Cultivation

At the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, England, three-coloured Indian cress is grown in a frost-free Alpine house. Large pots with good drainage are filled with a loam-based compost and tubers are replanted each September. The plant soon starts into growth and flowers begin forming in the spring and the plant remains in flower for several months. Propagation is by seed or from the tubers which are often formed at the very bottom of a pot or force their way out through the drainage holes.[1] The USDA Hardiness Zone is 8.[3] In cultivation in the UK, it does not tolerate being frozen, so in all but the mildest locations it must be grown under glass. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.[2][4]
References

Tropaeolum tricolor (three-coloured Indian cress). Archived 2012-05-16 at the Wayback Machine Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
"RHS Plantfinder - Tropaeolum tricolor". Retrieved 26 December 2018.
Michail Belov (2005–2009). "Tropaeolum tricolor". ChileFlora. Retrieved 2012-06-22.
"AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 103. Retrieved 26 December 2018.