Family: Bignoniaceae

Origin, Description & Uses
Tecomaria capensis (Cape honeysuckle) is native to southern and eastern Africa, from Tanzania through South Africa, where it grows in coastal scrub, forest margins, and thickets. It is a fast-growing, scrambling shrub or vine with glossy green leaflets and clusters of bright tubular flowers that range from orange to deep red. The blooms are highly attractive to hummingbirds, sunbirds, and other pollinators in its native range. In ornamental horticulture, it is widely planted as a flowering hedge, screen, or informal climber, valued for its long blooming period, drought tolerance once established, and ability to respond well to pruning.

Risks & Threats
In Hawaiʻi, Tecomaria capensis is reported as potentially naturalizing on Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, and Lānaʻi, meaning it is beginning to appear outside of cultivation in some areas. While it is generally considered low risk compared to more aggressive invaders, its vigorous growth and ability to spread vegetatively or by seed in favorable conditions warrant monitoring. In suitable habitats, it could form dense thickets that may compete with native vegetation or alter understory structure. Continued observation is recommended to ensure it remains primarily a well-behaved ornamental and does not become more widespread in natural or semi-natural ecosystems.

High Risk Traits:

• Naturalized & environmental weed (Australia, Jamaica, Bermuda, NZ, California)
  
• Congeneric species are weed
  
• Forms dense, smothering thickets via rooting branches
  
• Tolerates wide soil conditions (sandy, clay, acidic, alkaline, saline)
  
• Produces viable wind-dispersed seeds; prolific seed production
  
• Reproduces vegetatively via fragmentation and layering
  
• Dispersed intentionally as an ornamental
  
• Benefits from pruning/cutting back (responds vigorously)

Low Risk Traits:

• Unarmed (no spines, thorns, or burrs)
  
• No evidence of toxicity, allelopathy, or parasitism
  
• Foliage is palatable to grazing animals.
  
• Does not form a persistent seed bank (germinates quickly within 6–21 days).
  
• Dioecious, requiring pollinators (not self-compatible).
  
• Controllable with herbicides (e.g., Escort)