Stephanotis

Stephanotis, is a genus of flowering plants. The name derives from the Greek 'stephanos' crown and 'otis' ear which refers to the arrangement of the stamens in the flower which (supposedly) are ear shaped. Genus of 5-15 species of evergreen, woody-stemmed climbers from tropical woodland in Africa. They are grown for their strongly perfumed, waxy, tubular, usually white flowers.

Leaves are opposite, ovate to elliptic, and leathery. Stephanotis is a beautiful but difficult plant - it hates sudden changes in temperature, needs constant cool conditions in winter and is attractive to scale and mealy bug. The stems of Stephanotis can reach 10 ft or more, but is usually sold twined around a wire hoop. The heavily-scented waxy flowers appear in summer.

The best known species is Stephanotis floribunda (Madagascar Jasmine), which is cultivated as a tropical or hothouse ornamental, and whose flowers are a popular element in wedding bouquets. The Stephanotis has grown in popularity over the past few years along with some of the other spring flowering vines. It is known by a few different names such as the “Madagascar Jasmine” and the “Bridal Veil”.


Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephanotis

See Also: Flowers, Florist, Florists