“Climbing over the scenery, breaking my mind…”.
Having had a haircut a couple of weeks ago I don’t currently fit the category of “long haired freaky people” (or person) but I am reasonably good at reading the vines. Ok Paul, cut it with the random 70’s musical references you misplaced hippy and get on with it.
A few weeks back there was a question about how many and what sort of vines occur in Dry Rainforest, in answer to the first it’s “lots”, the answer to the second could take almost as long as the Eucalypt key to answer but I’ll cut it back to the some of the more common and interesting in some of the different Dry Rainforest types.
Hunter Valley Vine Thicket certainly fits the “dry” category and is generally a low to medium height, thick scrub with little groundcover and lots of rainforest associated plants. Vine thickets are relatively common in the Upper Hunter, often on rocky hillsides and are generally quite small patches. Vines in this community include:
Wonga Wonga Vine (Pandorea pandorana) a vine so pretty they had to name it twice twice! Probably one of the more spectacular native vines, common in many vegetation communities and giving a great show of white and purple bell-shaped flowers in Spring. It goes great in the garden but will need pruning to keep it in check.
Pandorea pandorana juvenile leaves
Pandorea pandorana flowers
Pepper Vine, Small Leaf Water Vine (Clematicissus opaca – prev. Cissus opaca). One of our lesser known native grapes and nowhere near as vigorous as the very closely related Kangaroo Grape and Five- Leaf Water Vine. It is in the grape family (Vitaceae) and produces small fruit. Not very common and usually hidden among other vines.
Clematicissus opaca leaves
Clematicissus opaca tendrils
Gargaloo Parsonsia eucalyptophylla
A woody narrow leafed climber found in Dry Rainforest as well as woodlands west from the Upper Hunter. Leaves are narrow and long (8-24 cm long, 0.5-2 cm wide) with yellow flowers and a finely hairy follicle type fruit (5-6cm long).
Slender Grape Cayratia clematidea
Another member of the Grape family (Vitaceae) this weak, scrambling vine produces small, black, edible fruit (though containing oxalates so best not having too many) and also produces (reportedly) edible tubers (which taste like dishwashing detergent, don’t ask me how I know this!). Found in shady, moist locations it can be mistaken for Balloon Vine, though the fruits, tendrils and smooth stems make it obvious which one you’re looking at.
Hairy Milk Vine Marsdenia flavescens
A thin stemmed climber to about 5 metres, the stems very finely hairy (needing a magnifying glass or zooming in) with milky, slightly yellowish sap, the leaves are opposite, oblong shaped, 3-12cm long by 1.5 – 4.5cm wide, flower head an open panicle with 2-6 umbels, flowers are yellow about 3mm diameter, fruit a narrow follicle 4-6cm long by 0.4 – 0.8cm diameter.
