Lophospermum erubescens aka Mexican Twist

Lophospermum erubescens, also known as Mexican twist or creeping gloxinia, is a climbing or sprawling herbaceous perennial plant native to the Sierra Madre Oriental mountains of Mexico. It can be found along forest margins or canyon walls and climbs using twining leaf stalks. The wild plants display pink and white tubular flowers, although other colors can be found in cultivation. This ornamental plant has been cultivated since at least 1830. While not frost-hardy, it can survive if its base and roots are protected from freezing during winter. It has also escaped from cultivation and become naturalized in tropical and subtropical areas worldwide. Lophospermum erubescens is often confused with Lophospermum scandens, but it can be distinguished by its more climbing habit, with numerous twining leaf stalks, as well as broader sepals that are joined at the base for only 2-3 mm. Despite being called creeping gloxinia, it is not closely related to either the true Gloxinia species from South America or the flowering houseplant known as gloxinia, Sinningia speciosa. This climbing evergreen perennial, often grown as an annual, features twining leaf stalks, triangular leaves, and solitary, trumpet-shaped rose-pink flowers that can reach up to 7cm in length during the summer and autumn.