Pandorea (Endl.) Spach (1840), in the family Bignoniaceae, contains around 6 species from New Guinea to New Caledonia and Australia. Description Slender climbers to 10m or more, with twining stems. The leaves are opposite, evergreen, pinnate, without tendrils. The flowers are brownish, yellow, or white with a pink throat. Sepals 5, joined to form a tube. Petals 5, joined to form a tube at the base, spreading at the mouth. Stamens 4, with 2 long and 2 short, on the inside of the tube. Ovary superior, with 1 cell and numerous ovules; style 1, 2-lobed at the tip. Pollination is presumed to be by insects. The fruits are oblong, thick-valved capsules with numerous small, flattened seeds with wings. Key Recognition Features Climbers with pinnate leaves without tendrils, woody at the base. The 2 cultivated species look very different: P. jasminoides (Lindl.) K. Schum. has large, white flowers with a deep pink throat, while P. pandorana (Andr.) Van Steenis, the wonga-wonga vine, has masses of small brownish or golden-yellow flowers, hairy in the throat. Evolution and Relationships Related to Tecomanthe Baill. which is found from New Guinea to Queensland and Three King’s Island, New Zealand; it has a larger, deeply toothed calyx and flowers with pointed lobes. Ecology and Geography In forest and along the coast, P. jasminoides in Queensland and New South Wales, P. pandorana from New Guinea through eastern Australia to Tasmania. Comment These are attractive climbers for essentially frost-free climates, cultivated in Australia and elsewhere. Photographs:
Pandorea pandorana
Pandorea pandorana 'Golden Showers' |
