THE UTILITARIAN ASPECT OF PETREA VOLUBILIS

Petrea Volubilis aka Sndpaper Vine is a very 
 beautiful plant to watch when in bloom.
The leaves of Petrea V. are very rough on
both sides, like a sandpaper! So, naturally,
 I thought they can be used like a sandpaper,
especially when dry ( no trace marks of green).
And that is the utilitarian aspect of Petrea Volubilis!

I tried to sand an old piece of  wood with a dry leaf, and it worked.

Sandpaper Vine: the leaves are very rough, like a sandpaper!

BLUE HAZE

TROPICAL WISTERIA MAGIC

Tropical Wisteria a.k.a. Queen's Wreath, Sandpaper Vine, Petrea volubilis, Bluebird Vine in Bloom: Full Magic Power. Pictured here is our Wisteria

grown from a seed and planted under the "art room window". Photo: MK

This beautiful double flower has a double life in double color. It charms with two different shades of blue: the bottom petals are hazy lilac-blue, and the top flower is vibrant blue-purple. The bottom petals dry on the vine and lose their color, but the top delicate, soft violet/pansy-like flowers drop to the ground creating a magic carpet - I doubted that they belonged to the Tropical Wisteria I saw last Tuesday on the grounds of the little botanical garden by the painting studios of the U of M Art Dept. in Coral Gables (where I painted as a postgrad student 17 years ago). Lidia was there with me.