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Lamiaceae
Bleeding Heart Vine
Clerodendrum thomsoniae
Devoted love, sweet sacrifice, African heart.
- Family
- Lamiaceae
- Genus
- Clerodendrum
- Native to
- West Africa
- Bloom season
- Spring, Summer, Fall
- Type
- Tropical vine
- Height
- 3–4.5 m (10–15 ft) climbing
- Sunlight
- Bright indirect light
- Soil
- Rich, well-drained
- Water
- High
- Hardiness
- 10–11
- Lifespan
- Long-lived perennial
Did you know
- Each flower has two parts: a pure white inflated calyx that looks like a paper lantern, and a vivid red true petal that bursts out from inside—a striking heart-and-blood combination.
- Bleeding heart vine was named for Mrs. William Cooper Thomson, a 19th-century missionary's wife in Nigeria who first sent samples back to British greenhouse growers in 1861.
- There are about 400 species of Clerodendrum across the tropics, and the genus name comes from the Greek for 'lottery tree'—because some species had unpredictable medicinal effects.
- The white calyx persists long after the red petals have fallen, then slowly turns dusty pink and lavender as it ages—giving the plant a 6-week-long color show from each flower.
- Despite its name, this is not a bleeding heart (Dicentra)—it's actually closely related to mint and salvia, in the same broad plant family as basil.
Color meanings
0
devoted love
1
sweet sacrifice
2
lasting affection