Long Grass Nature Refuge
Fauna and Flora Detail
WildMan
Wildlife Management System
© Copyright Long Grass Nature Refuge,2011
Return
Help
Scientific Name
Common Name
Type
Notes
Parsonsia straminea is a climber (vine) with opposite leaves, watery-milky sap. Climbs by means of roots which form sporadically along the stem of the plant which grip the trunk. Widespread and common in most types of rainforest and sclerophyll forest north from Mt Dromedary, NSW. Ring-tailed Possums nest in older vines. Leaves are food for Blue Tiger, Tellervo zoilus (NYMPHALIDAE) and Common Crow Butterfly. Lepticoris spp (Soapberry Bugs) opportunistically feed on the nectar. Juvenile leaves are much smaller than the adult leaves and are purplish underneath. Adult foliage can be dark green, light green, or variagated by means of blotches. Lower surface paler, veins finely reticulate and raised on both surfaces, especially in dried leaves. The stems grow to considerable diameter (over 10cm) and the vine can climb up to 40 m into the canopy. The vines live to great age and are capable of pulling down trees. The seed capsule is a linear pod, to 20 cm long by 10 mm wide. Seeds have a plume of several long silky hairs to help their dispersal. Common in rainforest and wet sclerophyll forest in eastern New South Wales and Queensland. The small pale yellow, fragrant flowers are borne in panicles at the ends of the stems or in the leaf axils. Individual flowers are pubescent, with a tube 3 mm long and 5 spreading or recurved lobes 4 mm long.
Photos