Monkey Rope

Description:

Parsonsia straminea, commonly known as "monkey rope" and "common silkpod", is a woody vine of the dogbane family Apocynaceae, and is an Australian native. A known bush tucker plant, the roots and seed pods are edible, and it is also a valuable food source for all sorts of fauna. It has certainly made it's presence known in this wetland area! The stems can grow to a considerable diameter (over 10cm) and the vine can climb up to 40 metres into the canopy. They live to a great age and are capable of pulling down trees. Here's a spotting I made a couple of years ago of a flowering vine.... https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/11...

Habitat:

Occurs along Australia's east coast, from northeastern Queensland south to southern NSW. It prefers to grow in well or partially shaded spots in rainforest and rainforest margins, as well as floodplains, on fertile basalt and sandstone-based soils. This spotting was at the Boondall Wetlands Reserve in Brisbane. This area of the wetlands is treed predominantly with she-oak (Casuarina) and paperbark (Melaleuca) species, both of which are favourite trees to climb.