This week we went to the Cambridge University Botanic Garden. One plant that really stood out for us was Strongylodon macrobotrys; more commonly known as the jade vine. We had never seen, nor heard of, this plant before but we were stunned by the colour of the flowers – I hope these photos to some justice to the plant:
This plant is, apparently, related to the broad bean and runner bean although I have never seen such striking coloured flowers on these plants. Reading about it, the seed pods are so heavy, they need to be supported as they ripen which, we presume, is what the red mesh bags are for in the photo above and more clearly seen in the photo below:
These plants were in the tropical glasshouse at the gardens.