Mussaenda philippica 'Aurorae'

The cultivar Mussaenda philippica ‘Aurorae’ is named after Dona Aurora, the wife of a former president of the Philippines. It is much showier than the wild type, having all five calyx lobes greatly enlarged, white and pendant. The most attractive features are the showy flowers which are composed of a small, tubular flowers with 5 orange-yellow petals and 5 greatly enlarged sepals (bracts) of pure white colour. The flowers are a deep golden yellow and are often hidden by the profusion of enlarged bracts. It is a shrub or small tree, 3-5 m high. Leaves are opposite, broad-ovate, with short-pointed tips, dark green and glossy. Flowering can be enhanced by deadheading (removing faded flowers). Although it does not produce seed, the pollen is fertile and this cv has been used in the breeding of a number of outstanding cultivars in crosses with M. erythrophylla and M. frondosa.