Lapageria rosea Chilean Bellflower, Chile Bells, Copihue
This lovely climber is the national flower of Chile, where it grows on the edges of evergreen woods and thickets. The stems twine through the vegetation, and bear leathery ovate leaves and waxy, bell-shaped flowers, up to 7.5cm (3in) long, usually crimson but also pink and white, from late summer to autumn. ‘Nash Court’ carries pink flowers.
Cultivation Requires shelter, humidity, and rich, leafy or peaty soil in shade.
Height to 5m (16ft). USZ 9–11, surviving -6.5°C (20°F) of overnight frost. Tolerant of drought, but needs water in summer.

Lapageria Ruíz. & Pavón (1802), in the family Philesiaceae, contains 1 species, L. rosea Ruíz & Pavón, in South America.

Description Twining climber to 5m, stems very tough at the base. Leaves oval, stiff. Flowers large and tubular, hanging, solitary or a few together in the leaf axils, crimson, more rarely pink or white, sometimes slightly tessellated. Sepals and petals similar, 6, waxy, with thick, sticky nectar at the base. Stamens 6, reaching the mouth of the flower. Ovary superior, with 3 cells and 1 thick, 3-lobed style. Pollination is by hummingbirds. The fruits are fleshy, green capsules with round, whitish seeds.
Key Recognition Features The large, waxy, hanging, bell-shaped flowers on a twining plant.
Evolution and Relationships Lapageria is close to the dwarf Philesia magellanica Gmel. from southern Chile, and the two have been hybridised in cultivation to form x Philageria veitchii Masters, which first flowered in 1872, and forms a scrambling shrub. Also sometimes included in the Philesiaceae is the suckering herb Luzuragia Ruíz & Pavón, which has 1 species, Luzuragia parviflora (Hook. fil.) Kunth, in New Zealand and 3, including Luzuragia radicans Ruíz & Pavón, in South America.
Ecology and Geography In warm temperate rainforests in Chile and southwestern Argentina.

Comment This is one of the most spectacular of all temperate climbers, the copihue, the national flower of Chile. It is named after the Empress Joséphine (1763–1814), wife of Napoleon Bonaparte, whose maiden name was Joséphine Tascher de la Pagerie.