vigna caracalla - 'cockscrew vine'

I came across this today while surfing the web for tropical garden blogs. I realised that there aren't really a lot of personal blogs out there devoted to tropical plants, which is really a shame because it would be an ideal platform for tropical garden enthusiasts (like myself) to share their experiences and in turn, learn from one another. Anyway, I found a couple of sites which I thought were pretty interesting and informative and have added the links to my blog section on the right hand column. Happy surfing!

Now back to this beautiful vine, the Vigna caracalla is also known by its more common synonym, the "Snail Vine" or the "Cockscrew Vine". This is a leguminous vine from the family Fabaceae and originates from tropical South America and Central America. It is a perennial vine in countries with cooler sub-tropical weather and an annual in the tropics. In many ways, it resembles a much less prettier version of the blue pea and like the blue pea, produces seed pods which are apparently edible. The flowers are also said to be very fragrant. I have yet to see this vine anywhere in Singapore, but like the Thunbergia mysorensis and the Congea tomentosa, this has now been added into my "want list".