Editing Strongylodon macrobotrys (section)

== Description ==
It has thick stems up to 2&nbsp;cm in diameter, which it uses to crawl up tall trees to reach sunlight.<ref name="MBG">{{cite web |title=Strongylodon macrobotrys |url=https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=280642 |date=n.d. |website=Plant Finder |publisher=Missouri Botanical Garden |access-date=2 December 2022 }}</ref> Its stems can reach up to 18&nbsp;m in length.<ref name="Kew">{{cite web|url=http://www.kew.org/plants-fungi/Strongylodon-macrobotrys.htm|title=Plants & Fungi: ''Strongylodon macrobotrys''|date=n.d.|website= Kew Gardens |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110101101231/http://www.kew.org/plants-fungi/Strongylodon-macrobotrys.htm |archive-date=1 January 2011 }}</ref> The vine entwines itself through its host's trunk and branches.  Like [[kudzu]], which also belongs to the papillionaceous subfamily, the Jade Vine can completely smother a dead, dying or severely damaged tree.<ref>{{cite book | last1= Sandved | first1= Kjell | last2= Emsley | first2= Michael | date= 1979 | title= Rain Forests and Cloud Forests | location= New York | publisher= Harry N. Abrams Inc. | pages= 104, 105 and 171. | isbn= 0-8109-1551-0}}</ref>

Its pale green foliage spreads over the canopy and is arranged alternately. Each leaf consists of three oblong leaflets with mucronate tips, the middle leaflet is the largest.<ref name="Kew"/><ref name="SMIP">{{cite web |last=Simpson |first=Donald |date=11 April 2019<!--from page source--> |title=''Strongylodon macrobotrys'' |url=https://somemagneticislandplants.com.au/jade-vine |accessdate=29 April 2022 |website=Some Magnetic Island Plants}}</ref><ref name="MBG"/>

=== Flowers ===
[[File:Jade Flor.jpg|thumb|Close-up of the flower.]]
The claw-shaped or beak-shaped flowers are carried in pendent [[Raceme|trusses or pseudoracemes]] of 75 or more flowers. The trusses can reach as much as 3&nbsp;m long.<ref name="Kew"/> The [[Turquoise (color)|turquoise]] flower color is similar to some forms of the minerals [[turquoise]] and [[jade]], varying from blue-green to mint green.

The flowers hang like clusters of grapes from [[inflorescence]]s produced by mature vines. Each bloom resembles a stout-bodied butterfly with folded wings; they have [[evolution|evolved]] certain modifications to allow them to be pollinated by a species of [[bat]] that hangs upside down on the inflorescence to drink its [[nectar]].<ref name="Kew"/><ref name=PotW>{{cite web |url=http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:519595-1 |title=''Strongylodon macrobotrys'' A.Gray |publisher=Plants of the World Online |accessdate=23 June 2021}}</ref>

Their bright coloration is an example of [[copigmentation]], a result of the presence of [[malvin]] (an [[anthocyanin]]) and [[saponarin]] (a [[flavone]] [[Glucoside#Styrolene derivatives|glucoside]]) in the ratio 1:9. Under the [[alkali]]ne conditions ([[pH]]&nbsp;7.9) found in the [[sap]] of the [[epidermis (botany)|epidermal]] cells, this combination produced a pink pigmentation; the pH of the colorless inner floral tissue was found to be lower, at pH&nbsp;5.6. Experiments showed that saponarin produced a strong yellow colouring in slightly alkaline conditions, resulting in the greenish tone of the flower.<ref name="Takedaa"/>

=== Fruit ===
[[File:Strongylodon macrobotrys-IMG 5485.jpg|thumb|Jade vine fruit]]
The short, oblong, fleshy seedpods are up to 15&nbsp;cm long and contain up to 12 seeds.<ref name="Kew"/> The jade vine is [[bat]]-pollinated in the wild, thus it must be hand-pollinated in greenhouses to bear its fruit, which can grow to be melon-sized. This has been done over the years at the [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew|Royal Botanic Gardens]] at Kew Gardens in [[England]], where seed conservation is an ongoing focus, especially in the face of loss of [[rainforest]] habitat.<ref>{{cite web|last= Davis|first= Janet|url=https://www.thepaintboxgarden.com/behold-the-jade-vine-5/|title=Behold the Jade Vine|date= 21 March 2014|website=The Paintbox Garden |access-date=1 April 2020}}</ref>