Wonga wonga vine | |
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Pandorea pandorana | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Lamiales |
Family: | Bignoniaceae |
Genus: | Pandorea |
Species: | P. pandorana |
Binomial name | |
Pandorea pandorana | |
Synonyms [1] | |
List
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Pandorea pandorana, commonly known as the wonga wonga vine [2] or wonga-vine, [3] is a species of flowering plant in the family Bignoniaceae and is native to Australia, Malesia and the southwestern Pacific region. It is a woody scrambler or climber with pinnate leaves, juvenile leaves differing from those of mature plants. The flowers are tubular or funnel-shaped and white with purple markings and the fruit are capsules containing winged seeds. It is easy species to germinate and is a popular garden plant. Common cultivars include the yellow-flowered P. 'Golden Showers', the white-flowered P. 'Snowbells', and the pinkish P. 'Ruby Belle'. The wood was used in making spears for woomeras in the Central and Western deserts.
Pandorea pandorana is a glabrous woody climber or scrambler, sometimes reaching a height of 6 m (20 ft) or more. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs and pinnate, those of juvenile plants 20–80 mm (0.79–3.15 in) long with eight to seventeen wavy-edged leaflets. Adult leaves have mostly three to nine egg-shaped leaflets on a petiole 10–45 mm (0.39–1.77 in) long, the leaflets 25–80 mm (0.98–3.15 in) long and 5–30 mm (0.20–1.18 in) wide on petiolules 1–2 mm (0.039–0.079 in) long. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
The flowers are arranged in groups up to 220 mm (8.7 in) long with several to many thyrses. The flowers are pendent, tubular or funnel-shaped, each on a pedicel 2–8 mm (0.079–0.315 in) long and white to cream-coloured with purple markings. The sepals are 3–5 mm (0.12–0.20 in) long and joined at the base with lobes about 1 mm (0.039 in) long. The petal tube is 10–25 mm (0.39–0.98 in) long, the tubular part more or less straight and 5–10 mm (0.20–0.39 in) in diameter, bearded on the inside, the lobes 3–6 mm (0.12–0.24 in) long. Flowering occurs from June to December followed in summer by oblong capsules 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) long and 10–20 mm (0.39–0.79 in) wide containing a large number of winged seeds. [2] [3] [6]
Wonga wonga vine was first formally described in 1800 by English botanist Henry Cranke Andrews who gave it the name Bignonia pandorana in The Botanist's Repository for New, and Rare Plants from specimens grown in London by Lee and Kennedy from seed collected on Norfolk Island by Colonel Paterson. [7] [8] In 1928 Cornelis Gijsbert Gerrit Jan van Steenis gave the species its present name. [9] Both the generic and specific name are derived from the Greek mythological woman Pandora. [10] The Scottish botanist Robert Brown had described it as Tecoma australis but this name was ruled invalid. [11]
In 1862, Louis Édouard Bureau formally described Tecoma austrocaledonica in the Bulletin de la Société botanique de France , [12] later reduced to Pandorea pandorana subsp. austrocaledonica by Peter Shaw Green, but that name is not accepted by the Australian Plant Census. [13]
A highly variable species, it is found across continental Australia in every state. [10] It is also found in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia and Vanuatu. [14] It is also found on Flinders Island in Bass Strait, but not on mainland Tasmania. In New Zealand the species has become naturalised within disturbed native vegetation near parks and gardens in which it is cultivated. [15]
It occurs in many habitats, from rainforest, to dry sclerophyll forest, to dry scrub and rocky outcrops in arid regions. It can grow in either clay or sand-based soils.
The highly flexible wood of Pandorea pandorana was the most sought-after for use in woomera-cast spears among the people of the Central and Western Deserts. Its versatility allowed short pieces to be spliced together if longer ones could not be found. [16] Due to its cultural significance, a group of mythological women with slender and flexible bodies were named after it. [17]
Pandorea pandorana was first raised in England in 1793 by Lee and Kennedy at their nursery in Hammersmith [9] and had flowered in cultivation by 1805. Material was also sent to the garden of the Château de Malmaison under the auspices of Joséphine de Beauharnais. [18] Its floral display makes it a popular and widely grown garden plant. It is an evergreen, half-hardy (hardy to about minus 5 °C once established), twining plant with lovely foliage, particularly so on young plants when it is very finely cut and somewhat fern-like. It is suitable for indoor or outdoor planting. Pruning is necessary to control the quick growing plant, which can overwhelm other plants in a small garden. The plant prefers full-sun to partial shade. It has been argued that the more sun it receives, the more flowers will bloom as a result. The species may be propagated by fresh seed, layering or semi-hardwood tip cuttings.
The Nursery and Garden Industry in Australia promoted P. pandorana as a native alternative to the invasive garden climber Black-eyed Susan ( Thunbergia alata ). [19]
Several different coloured cultivars are available, including:
Judith Wright had her poem, "Wonga vine" published in The Bulletin on 22 December 1948. [22]
Epacris impressa, also known as common heath, is a species of plant in the heath family Ericaceae. It is native to south-eastern Australia. French botanist Jacques Labillardière collected the species in 1793 and described it in 1805. Four forms have been identified, but no subspecies are recognised. Growing in heathland, shrubland or open forest, it is generally a small shrub around 0.5 to 1 m tall, with small stiff leaves. The red, pink or white tube-like flowers appear from late autumn to early spring. Honeyeater birds, particularly the eastern spinebill, feed upon the nectar of the flowers. It regenerates after bushfire by seed or by resprouting.
Geijera is a genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rutaceae and are native to New Guinea, Australia and New Caledonia. They have simple leaves arranged alternately, panicles of bisexual flowers usually with five, sometimes four, sepals, petals and stamens and fruit containing shiny black seeds.
Pandorea is a genus of nine species of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae and is native to Australia, Malesia, New Guinea and New Caledonia. Plants in the genus Pandorea are mostly woody climbers with imparipinnate leaves arranged in opposite pairs, flowers in groups with tube-shaped flowers, and winged seeds.
Pandorea jasminoides, also known by the common names bower of beauty and bower vine, is a species of flowering plant in the family Bignoniaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a woody climber with pinnate leaves that have three to nine egg-shaped leaflets, and white or pink trumpet-shaped flowers that are red and hairy inside. It is also grown as an ornamental.
Eremophila bignoniiflora, commonly known as Bignonia emu bush, creek wilga, dogwood, eurah, gooramurra, kurumbimi and river argee is a plant in the figwort family Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to the Northern Territory and all mainland states of Australia. It is a spreading, weeping shrub or small tree with long, strap-like leaves. Its leaves are among the longest in the Eremophila genus and the flowers are also relatively large, reflecting their adaptation to pollination by birds.
Eremophila debilis, the winter apple or amulla, is a flowering plant in the figwort family Scrophulariaceae, and is endemic to an area extending from north Queensland to near the border between New South Wales and Victoria in Australia. It is a prostrate shrub with elliptic to lance-shaped or egg-shaped leaves and white, rarely deep mauve flowers.
Hibbertia scandens, sometimes known by the common names snake vine, climbing guinea flower and golden guinea vine, is a species of flowering plant in the family Dilleniaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is climber or scrambler with lance-shaped or egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, and yellow flowers with more than thirty stamens arranged around between three and seven glabrous carpels.
Melaleuca viridiflora, commonly known as broad-leaved paperbark, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, and is native to woodlands, swamps and streams in monsoonal areas of northern Australia and New Guinea. It is usually a small tree with an open canopy, papery bark and spikes of cream, yellow, green or red flowers.
Dendrobium linguiforme, commonly known as the thumbnail orchid, tick orchid or tongue orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It grows on trees or on rocks, with wiry, prostrate stems, prostrate, fleshy leaves and spikes of up to twenty white to cream-coloured flowers in early spring.
Blandfordia nobilis, commonly known as Christmas bells or gadigalbudyari in Cadigal language, is a flowering plant endemic to New South Wales, Australia. It is a tufted, perennial herbs with narrow, linear leaves and between three and twenty large, drooping, cylindrical to bell-shaped flowers. The flowers are brownish red with yellow tips. It is one of four species of Blandfordia known as Christmas bells, this one growing on the coast and ranges south of Sydney.
Grevillea johnsonii, commonly known as Johnson's grevillea or Johnson's spider flower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It is a shrub with divided, needle-like leaves and red to orange flowers, and grows in rocky places.
Pandorea pandorana subsp. austrocaledonica is a woody climbing vine in the family Bignoniaceae. Commonly known as the boat vine, this plant is native to the regions of Lord Howe Island, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. A common plant, it is found at altitudes ranging from sea level to over 500 metres above sea level.
Leichhardtia suaveolens, synonym Marsdenia suaveolens, commonly known as the scented milk vine, is a small vine found in New South Wales, Australia. It is found in a variety of habitats in relatively high rainfall areas, from Bega to Port Macquarie. The original specimen was collected at Sydney on 11 May 1802.
Solanum laxum, commonly known as potato vine, potato climber or jasmine nightshade, is an evergreen vine in the family Solanaceae. It is native to South America and commonly grown as an ornamental garden plant.
Pandorea doratoxylon is a species of woody vine in the family Bignoniaceae and is endemic to Australia. The species was first formally described in 1927 by John McConnell Black who gave it the name Tecoma doratoxylon in Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of South Australia. In 1937, Black changed the name to Pandorea doratoxylon.
Pandorea baileyana, commonly known as large-leaved wonga vine, is a species of flowering plant in the family Bignoniaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a woody climber with pinnate leaves that have seven to nine egg-shaped leaflets, and relatively small cream-coloured flowers that are pink inside.
Pandorea nervosa is a species of flowering plant in the family Bignoniaceae and is endemic to Queensland. It is a woody vine that grows in rainforest and has pinnate leaves with three or five leaflets, and white, tube-shaped flowers.
Muellerina myrtifolia, common name myrtle-leaved mistletoe, is a hemiparasitic aerial shrub in the family Loranthaceae. The species is endemic to New South Wales and Queensland.
Pandorea floribunda is a species of flowering plant in the family Bignoniaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is similar to Pandorea pandorana but the leaflets are egg-shaped, 30–80 mm (1.2–3.1 in) long and 15–50 mm (0.59–1.97 in) wide and the flowers are pale yellow to cream-coloured.
Pandorea linearis is a species of flowering plant in the family Bignoniaceae and is endemic to Queensland. It is similar to Pandorea pandorana but has nine to thirteen linear leaflets, the lateral leaflets 11–42 mm (0.43–1.65 in) long and 1.5–6 mm (0.059–0.236 in) wide.
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