Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Cephalaralia cephalobotrys

Flowers and leaves. Australian Plant Image Index, photographer Murray Fagg, Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra

Fruit and leaves. Australian Plant Image Index, Australian Tropical Rainforest key, unknown photographer, unknown place

Common name

Climbing panax

Family

Araliaceae

Where found

Forest. Coast and ranges north of Lake Tabourie.

Notes

Woody climber or scrambler to 5 m high. Young stems bristly. Leaves alternating up the stems, compound, with 3 (rarely 4 or 5) leaflets each 3–15 cm long, 15–70 mm wide, upper surface darker and glossy; marginal teeth usually to 2 mm long, each with a bristly hair at the tip. Flowers dark reddish to purple or occasionally cream, about 2-4 mm in diameter, with 5 petals, falling soon after the flower opens. Flowers in stalked heads arranged in branched clusters up to 22 cm long. Fruit at first reddish or whitish, black when mature. Flowering: spring–autumn.

PlantNET description:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Cephalaralia~cephalobotrys  (accessed 7 January, 2021)