Evergreen scrambling and climbing, hairless shrub. Leaves to about 15 cm long,10 cm wide, more or less ovate, entire, tip pointed. Flower clusters terminal and axillary, hairy. Calyx white. Petals bright red, the floral tube to about 2 cm long, hairy. Fruit dark red to black.

Tropical W Africa

 

C. philippinum Schauer, Glory Bower, from China and Japan is an evergreen hairy shrub to 3 m tall. Leaves to 24 cm long and wide,more or less ovate, pointed, toothed. Flower clusters terminal, flat-topped, of many flowers, stalkless or with a short stalk. Flowers pink or white, highly fragrant. [C. fragrans (Vent.) R. Br.]

C. bungei Steud. is occasionally offered and has dense clusters of rose-purple, fragrant flowers. 'Pleniflorum' Flowers double. [C. fragrans (Vent.) R. Br. var. pleniflorum Schauer]

C. ×speciosum Dombr., Java Glory Bean, a hybrid, C. splendens × C. thomsoniae, is similar but has a calyx that is pale reddish pink and a corolla that is deep pink with shades of violet.

C. splendens James, Glory Bower, from tropical Africa is an evergreen climbing shrub. Leaves ovate to oblong, to 16 cm or so long, 8 cm wide, pointed, entire. Flower clusters terminal, dense, branched. Flowers with red calyx and bright red flowers, the tube about 2 cm long.

Source: Spencer, R. (2002). Verbenaceae. In: Spencer, R.. Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 4. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 3. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.