Parsonsia straminea

Location & distribution maps

Phylogeny & links to associated information:

Wikipedia links:     Angiosperms > Eudicots > Astrids > Campanulids > Gentianales  > Apocynaceae > Parsonsia straminea

Other links:     

Plant  information

Common name:             Common Silkpod 

• Also monkey rope  

Conservation status:   unknown

Etymology:   

• The genus is in honour of James Parsons (1705–1770), an English physician and Fellow of the Royal Society

• The species name straminea is Latin for "straw-coloured"

Flowers:                  

• Fragrant pale yellow flowers are produced in panicles from November to June, peaking over February

Fruit:                         

• Slender pods of 10–20 cm in length

• These split to release the seed from September to December

• The feathery seeds are carried by the wind and dispersed

Leaves:         

• The leathery adult leaves are arranged oppositely along the stems 

• They are yellowish green on their upper surface and pale grey-green (glaucous) on the undersurface

• They are 4–24 cm long by 1.5–8 cm wide—generally larger if growing in more shade

• Elliptic to oblong-ovate in shape, with a round or heart-shaped (cordate) base

Stem & branches: 

• The plant exudes a clear pale brown sap when cut or damaged

Roots:         

• The species climbs by twining, aided by its adventitious roots

Habit:        

• It is a vine, whose woody stems can reach 9 cm in diameter, and extend for 20 m into the tree canopy

Habitat:   

• It grows in shady spots in rainforest and rainforest margins

• As well as floodplains, on fertile basalt- and sandstone-based soils

Distribution:                  

• Parsonsia straminea occurs along Australia's east coast, from northeastern Queensland south to southern NSW as far south as Mount Gulaga

Additional notes:     

• Taxonomy

  • Prolific botanist Robert Brown collected the species between October and November 1804 from the Hunter and Williams Rivers in New South Wales

  • He described the species as Lyonsia straminea in his 1810 work Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen

  • Brown noted that it was closely related to Parsonsia, differing only in the structure of the capsule

  • Ferdinand von Mueller reclassified it in Parsonsia in 1868

• Ecology

  • Parsonsia straminea is foraged upon by caterpillars of the common crow (Euploea core) and the Cairns hamadryad (Tellervo zoilus subsp. zoilus)

• Cultivation

  • Parsonsia straminea can grow in a range of soil types and aspects

  • It can be used to cover fences and screens, though could smother nearby plants

  • It can be propagated by cuttings or layering

Sources of information:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parsonsia_straminea (2023)