ADLUMIA FUNGOSA CLIMBING FUMITORY SEEDS EXOTIC BIENNIAL IN PORT ELIZABETH

Adlumia is a genus of two species in the Papaveraceae family. One species, Adlumia fungosa, is commonly known as the Allegheny vine, Climbing Fumitory, or Mountain Fringe. It is found in the eastern US, north of Virginia and Tennessee, as far west as Iowa and Minnesota, as well as in eastern Canada. The other species, Adlumia asiatica, is native to Korea and immediately neighboring parts of China and southeast Russia. The genus name derives from John Adlum (), a surveyor, associate judge, plants man and agriculturist who ran an 80 ha (200 acre) experimental farm in Georgetown, Washington D.C.         Adlumia fungosa is an herbaceous, creeping, flowering plant and is closely related to the Fumitory genus, Fumaria. Adlumia fungosa is a biennial climbing plant with very slender stems. The leaves are several times pinnately divided, prehensile, and feathery in texture. The white or pinkish flowers grow in large clusters and appear in summer. The plant grows on wet and wooded slopes, and is native to North America, particularly the Allegheny Mountains area. It is a threatened or endangered species throughout its range in northeastern North America, where it has not been completely extirpated. This vine can grow up to 3.6m in length on wooded and rocky slopes. The species name fungosa means 'spongy' in Latin.