Solandra maxima golden yellow flower with brown anthers and dark stripes in its throat

Solandra maxima (Cup of Gold Vine)

A woody climbing vine or scrambling shrub native from Mexico to Colombia, it can reach about 40 feet and bears glossy, leathery leaves. Its large cup-shaped flowers range from creamy white to golden yellow, with rolled-back margins and violet-brown stripes extending through the throat. The flowers open mainly at night and are strongly fragrant. All parts of the plant are poisonous. The flowers supply nectar for bats. Its branching stems can root at the nodes, allowing the vine to spread vegetatively. Photographed in Bogotá, Colombia.

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Solandra maxima yellow flower with brown stripes in the throat

Solandra maxima pale yellow cup-shaped flower with purple-brown throat stripes among glossy leaves

Yellow Solandra maxima flower with brown anthers

A yellow Solandra maxima flower showing deep maroon stripes and a cupped, waxy corolla against a wooden backdrop and glossy green leaves

A creamy white Solandra maxima flower with purple-brown throat stripes and crimped petal edges, set among glossy deep green leaves

A Solandra maxima flower with a deeply ruffled yellow corolla and dark maroon radial lines inside the throat, viewed under dappled sunlight among green leaves

A vibrant Solandra maxima flower with golden yellow petals and dark maroon stripes radiating from the throat, surrounded by dense foliage

A Solandra maxima flower with light yellow petals and pronounced maroon striping inside the floral tube, framed by broad, shiny green leaves