Thunbergia alata

Family:ACANTHACEAE
Species:Thunbergia alata Bojer ex Sims
Common Name:Black Eyed Susan Vine
Habitat:Sunny disturbed areas. Waif, rarely escaping from cultivation.
Associated Ecological Communities:**
Growth Habit:Vine
Duration:Annual
Category:Vascular
USDA Symbol:THAL3
Plant Notes:Black Eyed Susan Vine is an introduced twining, herbaceous, perennial in the Acanthus family (Acanthaceae). It is native to eastern Africa. In Alabama Black Eyed Susan Vine is sometimes cultivated and occasionally escapes. It occurs in waste areas, in urban woodlots, on roadsides, and along railroad tracks. Black Eyed Susan Vine is a frost-sensitive, evergreen vine reaching lengths of 15 feet. It climbs by twining on other vegetation. The stems are flattened, 4-angled, pubescent, and green in color. Leaves are opposite, petiolate, sagittate to deltoid or ovate in outline, pubescent on both surfaces, with entire, undulate, or sparsely and remotely toothed margins. The petiole is winged and the base of the leaf blade is cordate or hastate. The leaves are dark green above and lighter green below. Flowers are solitary from the leaf axils. The flowers are pedunculate with two large, leaf-like bracteoles enclosing the calyx and most or of the corolla tube. The bracteoles are partially fused along one side. The calyx is green in color and 10-13-lobed. The corolla is funnelform with five lobes. The corolla is yellow to orange or white in color with a black “eye”. The fruit is a 2-4 seeded capsule with a prominent apical beak. Black Eyed Susan Vine is a fast-growing vine cultivated for its showy flowers. It can be grown for seed or cuttings. It prefers a site with full sun and requires a trellis or other support for climbing. Black Eyed Susan Vine readily re-seeds and is considered a pest in many tropical and subtropical areas.—A. Diamond
Taxonomic Notes:**
Status:Not Native
References:**

** Not applicable or data not available.

Classification

FamilyACANTHACEAE - Acanthus family
Genus Thunbergia
Species Thunbergia alata Bojer ex Sims - Black Eyed Susan Vine

Citation

Citation Thunbergia alata Bojer ex Sims, Bot. Mag. 52: t. 2591. 1825.
Basionym: **
Type: **

** Not applicable or data not available.

Synonyms

SynonymFull CitationBasionymType
Endomelas alata Endomelas alata (Bojer ex Sims) Rafinesque, Fl. Tellur. 4: 67. 1838 ("1836").Thunbergia alata Bojer ex Sims 1825. 
Thunbergia alata var. bakeri Thunbergia alata Bojer ex Sims, var. bakeri Hasselbring, in L. H. Bailey, Stand. Cycl. Hort. 3338. 1917.Thunbergia backeri Vilmorin 1866. 
Thunbergia alata var. fryeri Thunbergia alata Bojer ex Sims, var. fryeri (Vilmorin) Hasselbring, in L. H. Bailey, Stand. Cycl. Hort. 3338. 1917.Thunbergia fryeri Vilmorin 1863. 
Thunbergia alata subvar. doddsii Thunbergia alata Bojer ex Sims, subvar. doddsii (Paxton) Hasselbring, in L. H. Bailey, Stand. Cycl. Hort. 3338. 1917.Thunbergia doddsii Paxton 1849. 
Thunbergia alata var. lutea Thunbergia alata Bojer ex Sims, var. lutea Hasselbring, in L. H. Bailey, Stand. Cycl. Hort. 3338. 1917.  
Thunbergia bikimaensis Thunbergia bikimaensis De Wildeman, Pl. Bequaert. 1: 446. 1922. CONGO-KINSHASA: Bikima (Mboga), 16 Mar 1914, Bequaert 2998 (holotype: BR; isotype: BR).
Thunbergia manganjensis Thunbergia manganjensis T. Anderson ex Lindau, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 17: 92. 1893. MALAWI: Manganja Hills, s.d., Kirk s.n. (holotype: B(destr.); isotype: K).
Thunbergia nymphaeifolia Thunbergia nymphaeifolia Lindau, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 33: 184. 1902. TANZANIA:
Thunbergia alata var. alba Thunbergia alata Bojer ex Sims, var. alba Paxton, Mag. Bot. 3: 28. 1837.  
Thunbergia alata var. albiflora Thunbergia alata Bojer ex Sims, var. albiflora Hooker, Bot. Mag. 63: t. 3512. 1836.  
Thunbergia alata var. vixalata Thunbergia alata Bojer ex Sims, var. vixalata Burkill, in Oliver, Fl. Trop. Afr. 5: 17. 1900.Thunbergia fuscata T. Anderson 1893. 
Thunbergia alata var. albiflora Thunbergia alata Bojer ex Sims, var. albiflora Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 500. 1891, non Hooker 1840. TRINIDAD:
Thunbergia alata var. aurantiaca Thunbergia alata Bojer ex Sims, var. aurantiaca Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 500. 1891. PUERTO RICO:
Thunbergia alata var. minor Thunbergia alata Bojer ex Sims, var. minor S. Moore, J. Bot. 39: 300. 1901. KENYA: Mombasa, s.d., Taylor s.n. (holotype: BM).
Thunbergia alata var. retinervia Thunbergia alata Bojer ex Sims, var. retinervia Burkill, in Oliver, Fl. Trop. Afr. 6: 17. 1900.  
Thunbergia alata var. sulphurea Thunbergia alata Bojer ex Sims, var. sulphurea Hasselbring, in L. H. Bailey, Stand. Cycl. Hort. 3338. 1917.  
Thunbergia albiflora Thunbergia albiflora (Hooker) Gordon, Gard. Chron. 1845: 169. 1845.Thunbergia alata Bojer ex Sims, var. albiflora Hooker 1836. 
Thunbergia aurantiaca Thunbergia aurantiaca Paxton, Mag. Bot. 6: 269. 1839.  
Thunbergia backeri Thunbergia backeri Vilmorin, Fl. Pleine Terre, ed. 2. 919. 1866.  
Thunbergia delamerei Thunbergia delamerei S. Moore, J. Bot. 38: 205. 1900. KENYA: Northern Frontier Distr.: Lake Marsabit, s.d., Delamere s.n. (holotype: BM).
Thunbergia doddsii Thunbergia doddsii Paxton, Mag. Bot. 15: t. 221. 1849.  
Thunbergia fryeri Thunbergia fryeri Vilmorin, Fl. Pleine Terre 876. 1863.  
Thunbergia fuscata Thunbergia fuscata T. Anderson, in Lindau, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 17(Beibl. 41): 40. 1893. MALAWI: Manganja Hills, s.d., Meller s.n. (holotype: B(destr.); isotype: K).
Thunbergia kamatembica Thunbergia kamatembica Mildbraed, Bull. Jard. Bot. Etat 17: 84. 1943. CONGO-KINSHASA: Kamatembe, s.d., de Witte 1589 (holotype: BR).
Thunbergia oculata Thunbergia oculata S. Moore, J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 38: 269. 1908. UGANDA/CONGO KINSHASA: Ruwenzori Mountains, s.d., Wollaston s.n. (holotype: BM).
Valentiana volubilis Valentiana volubilis Rafinesque, Specchio Sci. 1: 87. 1814. ETHIOPIA: Without data, Salt s.n. (neotype: BM). Neotypified by Friis, Taxon 35: 360. 1986.

Specimens and Distribution

This species has been reported in the following counties by the herbaria listed. An overview of the individual specimens are provided in the table that follows. Click on the accession number to view details; click on column headers to sort; choose a county or herbaria to filter the specimen data.

Counties included on distribution map: Baldwin, Pike, Tuscaloosa

Counties represented by specimen data listed below:

Herbaria represented by specimen data listed below: ALNHS, TROY, UNA, UWAL

Range of years during which specimens were collected: 1980 - 1980

Barcode / Accession No. County Coll. Date Collector &
Collection No.
Herbarium &
Herbarium Name Used
Image
UNA00042863 Tuscaloosa 08 Nov 1980 Gyllenhaal-Davis, Charlotte
110
UNA
Thunbergia alata Bojer ex Sims
TROY000043299 Pike 22 Nov 2015 Diamond, Alvin R.
27074
TROY
Thunbergia alata Bojer ex Sims
ALNHS00006652 Baldwin 06 Nov 2019 Barger, T. Wayne
SP#5018
ALNHS
Thunbergia alata Bojer ex Sims
UWAL0033130 Pike 22 Nov 2015 Diamond, Alvin R.
27074
UWAL
Thunbergia alata Bojer ex Sims
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