The trumpet-shaped flowers of this vigorous climber are clothing an obelisk on the Systematic Beds.
The trumpet vine family, Bignoniaceae, comprises over 100 genera of trees, shrubs, climbers and herbaceous species, mainly from tropical and subtropical zones, and includes Catalpa, Incarvillea and Campsis. The genus Campsis contains only two species of deciduous woody climbers, C. radicans and C. grandiflora, both of which have opposite, pinnate leaves with ovate leaflets, and trumpet-shaped flowers. C. radicans is a native of the south-eastern United States, where it grows to 10m in swamps, woods and thickets. It bears terminal cymes of tubular orange-red flowers which are borne from summer into autumn, and these give rise to the common name trumpet vine. In warm summers it produces bean-like pods containing several winged seeds. This is a vigorous species producing aerial roots which attach themselves to supporting structures