Parsonsia straminea (Robert Brown, 1810)
Silkpod,   APOCYNACEAE
  
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
&
Ken Harris

flowers
near Bega, NSW, 13th January 1992

Strawpod is a perennial climbing woody vine, holding on to other plants by twining stems and adventitious roots arising along the stems. Leaves are elliitical to ovate, up to 24 cm long in opposite pairs. The small pale yellow flowers are borne in panicles at the ends of the stems or in the leaf axils.


flowering stem
near Bega, NSW, 13th January 1992

Individual flowers are pubescent, with a tube 3 mm long and 5 spreading or recurved lobes 4 mm long. 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.


seed pods
near Bega, NSW, 13th January 1992

Strawpod is common in rainforest and wet sclerophyll forest in eastern New South Wales and Queensland.

The foliage is food for some Caterpillars, for example :

Tellervo zoilus
NYMPHALIDAE

Link to
FAQs about Caterpillars
Australian
Australian Butterflies
butterflies
Australian
home
caterpillars
Australian
Australian Moths
moths
Link to
Flowers in Australia

(updated 28 December 2009, 29 June 2020)