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Solanaceae
Golden Chalice Vine
Solandra maxima
Sacred ritual, abundance, and altered vision.
- Family
- Solanaceae
- Genus
- Solandra
- Native to
- Mexico, Central America
- Bloom season
- Winter, Spring
- Type
- woody evergreen vine
- Height
- 6–12 m
- Sunlight
- full sun
- Soil
- fertile, well-drained
- Water
- medium
- Hardiness
- 9–11
- Lifespan
- long-lived perennial
Did you know
- Each enormous goblet-shaped flower can be 25 cm long — among the largest single blooms of any vine.
- Flowers open white-cream and deepen to rich gold by the second day, releasing a coconut-vanilla scent at night.
- It was sacred to the Huichol people of western Mexico, who used it ceremonially despite its strong tropane alkaloids.
- It is in the nightshade family — every part is toxic if eaten, including the perfume-soaked petals.
- The vine can engulf a tree in a single season once established, putting on 4–5 m of new growth per year.
Color meanings
Yellow
warm welcome
Gold
ceremonial wealth and revelation