Chinese Glory Bower

Common name: Chinese Glory Bower, Honolulu rose, Glory tree, Stickbush • Manipuri: কুথপ অঙৌবা Kuthap angouba • Tamil: மத்ராஸ மல்லீ Madras Malli
Botanical name: Clerodendrum chinense Family: Verbenaceae (verbena family)
Synonyms: Clerodendrum fragrans, Clerodendrum philippinum
Chinese glory bower is a perennial shrub up to 2.4 m tall. White or pink fragrant double flowers, 1 in across, occur in dense inflorescences. The wild form is single-flowered. The flowers are very fragrant in the evening and attract butterflies. A major weed of roadsides and gardens in towns and villages and rapidly invades pastures and plantations wherever it is planted. The leaves are large (6-10 cm long), opposite and simple with variable margins. The shrubs have a lot of lush green foliage and the flower head nestles in between the leaves, with individual flowers taking turns to bloom. Each bloom stays up to three days before withering. The flower head throws up flowers for a fortnight before another takes its place. In South India, flowering is profuse in January and February. A few late bloomers stay on, but wind up by mid-March, when they start looking like any plant with big leaves. Propagation is very easy. All you need to do is take cuttings of the stem or side branches, insert them in soil and water at regular intervals.