Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Parsonsia purpurascens

Common name

Black silkpod

Family

Apocynaceae

Where found

Rainforest and tall wet eucalypt forest. North of Kangaroo Valley. Mainly in the ranges.

Notes

Woody twiner to 5 m high. Young stems hairy, soon becoming hairless. Stems and young expanding leaves purplish. Leaves opposite each other, 4–14 cm long, 15–40 mm wide, firm, of moderate thickness, green or purplish, hairless, coarser reticulations of the veins visible on the lower surface, tips pointed; bases rounded or slightly cordate. Flowers pale yellow or cream, 2- about 5 mm in diameter, tubular, the tube about 1.7 mm long, with 5 lobes, in open 6-20 flowered clusters. Flowering: summer and autumn.

PlantNET description with line drawings and photos of dried specimens:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Parsonsia~purpurascens (accessed 30 January, 2021)