Akar Dani

Combretum indicum, also known as the Rangoon creeper or Chinese honeysuckle, is a vine with red flower clusters and native to tropical Asia. It is not closely related to the true honeysuckle species Lonicera tragophylla which is also called the Chinese honeysuckle.

The flowers are fragrant and tubular and their color varies from white to pink to red. The 30 to 35 mm long fruit is ellipsoidal and has five prominent wings. The fruit tastes like almonds when mature.

The flowers change in colour with age and it is thought that this is a strategy to gather more pollinators. The flower is initially white and opens at dusk. This attracts hawkmoths with long tongues for pollination. On the second day it turns pink and on the third it turns red attracting day flying bees and birds. The flower also changes from a horizontal orientation to a drooping pose.