regnum-plantae:

Solandra maxima, Solanaceae

Within the resort where I was staying in, on the southern coast of Lanzarote, I found the winner of the category ‘showiest flower of the holiday’, and I was so happy it was a yellow one! Cup of gold is a stunning, vigorous liana native to 

Mexico, Central America and northern South America, where it grows on well draining soils in sunny locations, scrambling over anything which might support the weight of its heavy, heavily branching, woody stems. I’ve seen only three plants in total, two of them were grown as round, free standing, 2.5m/~7ft tall shrubs, while the last was beginning to send a few stems creeping up a wall, but it can grow extensively to completely cover walls or porches in warm, frost free parts of the world. 

The flowers are large, trumpet-shaped and a warm, golden yellow, with five prominent maroon markings in correspondence with the main veins. They are reminiscent of those of two other large-flowered Solanaceae, the moonflower (Datura inoxia) and the angel trumpet (Brugmansia suaveolens), and all three species share the fact they’re highly toxic, with various effects, and are manipulated for this reason. Maybe I just didn’t notice more of these plants while walking around, but maybe it’s just not that common there, although its resistance to salty winds makes it an excellent candidate for ornamental planting in coastal areas. 

Bonus: two of the photos feature a white-banded digger bee (Amegilla quadrifasciata), a solitary, burrowing bee widespread from the Canary Islands through the Mediterranean and Southern and Central Europe to Central and East Asia. With its striking coloration I think I’d remember having seen it before in Italy, but I don’t think I had. Also, S. maxima is generally pollinated by nocturnal bats in its natural range, but bees are happy to oblige in their absence.