Family: Bignoniaceae
Pyrostegia venusta, commonly known as flame vine, flame flower, huapala, or orange trumpet vine, is a fast-growing, woody climbing vine native to South America, particularly Brazil. It is prized for its spectacular winter displays of bright orange, trumpet-shaped flowers that form dense clusters and attract pollinators. Because of its vigorous growth and showy blooms, flame vine has been widely planted as an ornamental to cover fences, walls, and trellises, and is often used for quick screening or decorative ground cover in warm climates.
Despite its popularity, flame vine poses significant ecological risks. It grows aggressively, producing long, heavy stems that can smother shrubs and trees, block sunlight, and outcompete native vegetation. Once established, it is difficult to control and can spread beyond cultivated areas. In Hawaiʻi, flame vine is naturalized on Kauaʻi and Oʻahu, where it has escaped cultivation and begun spreading in the landscape. Its ability to form dense mats makes it a threat to native and managed ecosystems, particularly in disturbed areas. Due to these impacts and its invasive tendencies, flame vine is not recommended for planting, and non-invasive alternatives should be considered instead.
High Risk Traits:
- Naturalizes outside native range (Hawaiian Islands of Kaua'i and O'ahu, FL, Jamaica)
- Broad climate & soil tolerance
- Repeatedly introduced globally
- Agricultural/environmental weed (smothers trees, crops)
- Climbing/smothering growth habit
- Produces viable, wind-dispersed seeds
- Self-compatible (can self-pollinate)
- Tolerates cutting and regrows from roots
- Grows in sun to partial shade
- Herbicide-resistant (hard to control chemically)
Low Risk Traits:
- Not spiny, toxic, or allelopathic
- Does not spread vegetatively
- Seeds not dispersed by animals/water
- Requires specialist pollinators (hummingbirds)
