FoI
Wooly Congea
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Wooly Congea
E Native Photo: Aarti Khale
Common name: Wooly Congea, Shower Orchid, White Congea • Mizo: Sahuai-hrui
Botanical name: Congea tomentosa    Family: Verbenaceae (Verbena family)
Synonyms: Congea tomentosa var. nivea, Congea villosa

Wooly Congea is a large tropical evergreen fuzzy vine. Leaves, stems, flower bracts, all are fuzzy. It is a trailing or climbing vine up to 20 ft long, but can be pruned as a shrub. Wooly congea has very pretty light green leaves, 15.2-20.3 cm long. They are evergreen with prominent veins and are arranged in opposite pairs. Flowers are tiny and inconspicuous, but they are borne in the center of three showy white 2.5 cm long bracts that look like velvety petals. The bracts gradually change through pink, lavender, and finally gray over the course of several weeks. Abundant flower clusters each consist of several flowers with their surrounding bracts. When the vine blooms, it blumes profusely. Drupes are enclosed in an enlarged sepals. Wooly Congea is native to Myanmar and Thailand, it can be found elsewhere in South Asia, including Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Yunnan, Bangladesh, and India (Assam, Manipur, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal). Its native habitat is mixed forests at altitudes of 600-1200 m.

Identification credit: Aarti Khale Photographed in Lalbagh, Bangalore.

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