The violet blooms of Petrea volubilis are filling the canopy of the Glasshouse corridor.
Climbing to 12m in height this twining woody climber produces arching panicles of flowers, each with a small, deeply coloured, central corolla sitting in 5 paler petal-like calyx lobes. The dark green oblong-elliptic leaves have a rough lower surface, giving rise to the common name of the sandpaper vine. The generic name honors Lord Petre, an eighteenth century botanical and horticultural patron, while the specific name volubilis means twining.