ROUGH SILKPOD

Tall woody climbing perennial, the stems hairless, the young branches downy, rarely woolly or downy all over, often hoary.

Leaves - opposite, elliptical-oblong or lanceolate, 5-7.5 cm long, shortly stalked, rounded at the tip, with a short point or shortly tapered, dark-green, downy, the margins usually down-curved, the veins inconspicuous above, pale or light-brown and more prominent below.

Flowers - pale, fragrant, borne in compact clusters on short branches in the leaf axils or at the ends of the stems, shortly tubular at the base, the tube less than 2-3mm long and ending in 5 lobes each 4mm long.

Fruit - woody tapered pod, 7.5-12.5 cm long, separating into 2 segments; seeds tapered, shortly beaked and with a silky tuft of hairs 12-18mm long at one end.

Flowering usually summer-early autumn but has been recorded as late as June.