Lophospermum is a genus of herbaceous perennial climbers and scramblers in the family Plantaginaceae (tribe Antirrhineae), native to mountainous regions of Mexico and Guatemala. The genus was first described in 1826 by the Scottish botanist David Don, who coined the name from the Greek lophos (crest) and sperma (seed), alluding to the distinctive circular wing encircling each seed.
Plants in the genus climb by means of twining leaf stalks (petioles) rather than tendrils or twisting stems — a trait that readily distinguishes them from related climbers. Stems are branched and become woody at the base with age; in some species they arise from a swollen, bulb-like woody caudex. The leaves are triangular to heart-shaped with toothed margins and a pointed tip, and both stems and leaves may carry a purplish tinge. Flowers are tubular, borne singly on upright or horizontal peduncles, with five petals joined at the base into a long floral tube and free lobes in shades of red, violet, or dark purple. Two prominent yellowish folds (plicae) run along the interior of the tube. After fertilization a rounded capsule develops, filled with the characteristic winged brown seeds.
The genus comprises around seven accepted species, most with narrow endemic ranges in the high-altitude oak and oak-pine forests of the Sierra Madre Oriental, Sierra Madre del Sur, Sierra Madre de Chiapas, and the Cordillera Neovolcánica, typically between 500 and 3,000 m. Lophospermum erubescens, the most wide-ranging species, has also naturalized in tropical and subtropical regions beyond Mexico, including Colombia, Venezuela, Jamaica, Hawaii, and parts of eastern Australia.
Lophospermum is closely allied to Maurandya and Rhodochiton, and the taxonomy of the three genera has historically been confused; species have passed between them under various names. Two species — L. erubescens and L. scandens — are popular ornamental climbers grown in gardens worldwide, including under the registered trade name "Lofos®" (Suntory Flowers), with cultivars in white, pink, wine-red, and cream. Hybrids between the two cultivated species have been known since the 1840s.
Etymology
The genus name Lophospermum derives from the Greek lophos (crest or plume) and sperma (seed), referring to the circular wing that surrounds each seed. The name was coined by the Scottish botanist David Don when he first formally described the genus in a paper read to the Linnean Society of London in March 1826.
Distribution
Lophospermum is native to the mountainous regions of Mexico — including the Sierra Madre Oriental, Sierra Madre del Sur, Sierra Madre de Chiapas, the Altiplano, and the Cordillera Neovolcánica — and parts of adjacent Guatemala. Most species occupy small, discrete ranges at elevations of 500–3,000 m in oak or oak-pine forests. L. erubescens has the widest natural distribution and has also become naturalized in Colombia, Venezuela, Jamaica, Hawaii, and New South Wales and Queensland in Australia.
Ecology
L. erubescens and L. scandens are pollinated by hummingbirds, consistent with their red, open-throated flowers and long floral tubes (up to 63 mm in L. erubescens). Based on floral morphology, L. purpusii is also likely hummingbird-pollinated, while L. breedlovei, L. chiapense, L. purpurascens, and L. turneri — with differently shaped flowers featuring landing platforms and narrower tube openings — may be bee-pollinated. Nectar composition supports this split: L. turneri has an unusually high sucrose proportion compared with other hummingbird-pollinated flowers in the group.
Cultivation
L. erubescens has been grown as an ornamental climber since at least the early 19th century; Joseph Paxton praised it in 1836 as "a very fine creeper." L. scandens and L. purpusii have also been cultivated. A range of named cultivars — including hybrids between L. scandens and L. erubescens (a cross known since the 1840s) — are sold under Suntory Flowers' registered "Lofos®" brand, in forms such as Compact White, Compact Pink, Wine Red, and Summer Cream. Plants can be grown from seed and treated as annuals in frost-prone climates, or maintained as perennials where roots are protected from frost; selected cultivars are propagated by cuttings.
Taxonomy Notes
Lophospermum was first described by David Don in 1826 and placed in the tribe Antirrhineae. It has historically been entangled with Maurandya and Rhodochiton: Wayne Elisens' 1985 monograph subsumed Rhodochiton into Lophospermum as section Rhodochiton, and the genus has at times been treated as a section of Maurandya. The seven currently accepted species were recognised by The Plant List (2014). GBIF currently lists the family as Scrophulariaceae; Wikipedia and current APG-based treatments place it in the expanded Plantaginaceae.
