Parsonsia ventricosa F.Muell.

Mueller, F.J.H. von (1857), Account of some new Australian plants. Transactions of the Philosophical Institute of Victoria 2: 71. Type: "Vallies of the Pine River. Hill and Mueller."

Acuminate Silkpod

A climber with twining stems. Stem exudate watery and clear. Stems hairless or pubescent.

Leaves simple, opposite. Petiole 5-12 mm long, channelled above. Leaf blades lanceolate, oblong-lanceolate or ovate, 4-15 cm long, 1.5-5 cm wide, base rounded or cordate, margin entire, apex acuminate or subulate. Basal lamina colleters absent. Lateral veins about 5-8 pairs. Upper surface dark green and hairless, lower surface hairless or softly hairy, paler green. Domatia absent. Small stipule-like glands usually present on the twigs between the petiole bases and in axils of leaves, linear to triangular, 0.3-0.5 mm long.

Inflorescence axillary, few-flowered and arranged in short corymbose cymes (cymes usually in pairs). Flowers bisexual, actinomorphic, 5-merous, 3-4 mm diam. Pedicels 2-7 mm long. Calyx shortly tubular, to about 2 mm long, lobes about 1 mm long, green. Corolla tubular, tube inflated at base, tube c. 3.5 mm long, with spreading to recurved ovate lobes, 2.5-3 mm long, whitish cream; with a ring of hairs in throat of tube (bearded internally); corolline corona absent. Stamens 5, straight or slightly twisted around the style, anthers about 3 mm long, fused to form a cone around style head, anther tails broad, overlapping, filaments glabrous, c. 2.5-3 mm long, stamens half exserted from tube. Nectary (disk) scales connate in a ring, with c. 10 short apical lobes. Ovary superior, 2-locular, style head dilated and adherent to anther cone.

Fruit dry when mature, a capsule, fusiform, 9-15 cm long, 0.6-1.2 cm wide, finely hairy. Seeds numerous, about 8 mm long, with a silky coma or plume attached to end of seed, 20 mm long.

Features not available.

Occurs in CEQ in the Eungella and Cathu areas, and southwards to north eastern New South Wales. Common vine in wet subtropical rainforest but also in drier rainforest.

This profile information and associated coding has been adapted from Cooper & Cooper (2004), Harden et al. (2014) and Forster & Williams (1996).