Congea tomentosa
species of plant
Congea tomentosa is a large tropical evergreen vine, commonly referred to as wooly congea, shower orchid, or shower of orchid. (Despite the name, it is not closely related to orchids). It is called lluvia de orquideas or terciopelo in Spanish, krua on in Thai, and rong bao teng in Chinese. Native to Myanmar and Thailand, it can be found elsewhere in South Asia, including Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia (Kedah), China (Yunnan), Bangladesh, and India (Assam, Manipur, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal). Its native habitat is mixed forests 600–1200 meters above sea level.
This tropical vine has been naturalized elsewhere, including the islands of the Caribbean, southern Florida, and southern California. In the United States, wooly congea can be grown outdoors in USDA zones 10 and 11. It does not tolerate frost.
The plant can grow to 3–5 meters (9.8–16.4 feet) in cultivation and even larger in its native state. The stems, leaves and bracts are covered with fine, downy hairs.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Congea tomentosa” as species of plant. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as species of plant. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 26, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q5160399. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1200.
Scientific names, classifications and consensus can change while older terminology persists in catalogues and historical literature. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Congea tomentosa” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.