The Garlic Vine Plant

Fancy the smell of garlic ?  Most people either love it or hate it !  This plant is called the Garlic Vine because when parts of this plant is crushed,  it emits the fresh smell of garlic. Leave the plant  alone, there is really no smell.  The showy flowers are a real draw,  they started off as a deeper purple, then gets more pastel, so there is a nice combination of different shades on the blooms at  one time, very pretty indeed.  Perhaps it is the smell  the plant  emit when damaged, because so far I have not seen this plant attacked by pests.  The heavy clusters of  flowers do not emit any scent at all, so no worry that the garden will smell of garlic when this plant blooms!

The leaves are of a deep green in contrast  and the stems are hardy.  This plant is a climber and produces tendrils to help it climb. It grows moderately slow. My original intention was to grow this plant  to cover  the fence, however  now it has to share  the fence with  the Rangoon Creeper  (refer blog entry June, 24th 2010).  Other names of this plant include - Mansoa alliacea, Pachyptera hymenaea, Pseudocalymma alliacea, Cydista aequinoctialis. 

These pictures were taken when the plant first bloomed.  Actually this plant is easy to propagate. I just took some cuttings about 4 nodes and stick it into some well drained soil.  One has to patient with this plant, as mentioned it grows slowly at its own pace.  However once it has adjusted to its environment, the growth will be faster. The plant so far is doing well in my garden where I planted it. My aunt from whom I get the cuttings from grows her plant in a pot.  

This plant needs to well watered and needs the sun to bloom well. Apparently this plant has some medicinal value as well...check these links  :- http://toptropicals.com/catalog/uid/Mansoa_alliacea.htm and http://www.itslife.in/2007/09/garlic-creeper