The golden trumpet, Allamanda cathartic, is a fabulous vine because it has these delightfully bright yellow flowers that stand out from a mile away. As with many exotic plants that do well here in Sydney, the golden trumpet comes from Central and South America. It can reach a size of three to six metres tall by one or two metres wide. The golden trumpet, getting its name from the yellow flowers, belongs to the Apocynaceae family. The meaning of the binomial name is as follows:

• Allamanda-the genus is named after Dr.Fredrick Allamand, a Swiss botanist (1736-1809).
• Cathartica-from the Greek word kathairein, meaning to cleanse or purge, referring to the fact that it was once used as a medicinal plant to induce vomiting. It is worth noting now that the plant is toxic in large doses.

A native of Brazil, the golden trumpet is an evergreen tropical climber that is happy in tropical, sub-tropical and monsoonal climates. It is a plant that is commonly found in areas of disturbance, along forest margins and near swamps and along roadsides.

It has woody, twining stems that contain milky sap that can cause rashes that itch and blister so ALWAYS wear gloves when dealing with it. The leaves are arranged in whorls of three or four around these stems. The leaves are roughly obovate shape and up to fifteen centimetres long. They have a leathery texture and glossy green in colour.

The flowers are bright yellow in colour and shaped like a trumpet, with five petals. They grow from the leaf axils (where the leaf joins the branch/stem). The flowers attract several forms of wildlife, including birds, bees and butterflies-this is always something I enjoy seeing. The plant flowers freely all year. The fruit is a prickly capsule that opens, when ripe, to release its winged seeds.

Ideal conditions for the golden trumpet in the garden are full sun plenty of water and moderate fertility. It also needs moderate to high humidity-in a less ‘fluffy’ way, it needs at least 60% humidity to be happy.

In the garden, the golden trumpet is great for climbing over trellises or up the sides of a pergola. It is apparently happy in containers too. To reduce the potential for fungal disease, give it a light prune occasionally to improve air circulation. Pests include mealy bug, whitefly and spider mite.

Would I have this plant in my garden? Probably, if I had a pergola or space along a fence where I could attach a trellis. It isn’t ordinarily the sort of plant I would choose for my garden, but if I had a space for a climber, this is probably the one I’d go for.