Vigorous trailer or climber with a distinctive flaky red bark. scandens from the Latin ‘scandere’ meaning to climb.
Weed Category:
Weed:
No
Form or habit:
Vine (Climbing, Twining or groundcover)
Family:
Dilleniaceae
Leaf:
Alternate, ovate to elliptic to obovate, entire, 3-9 x 1-3cm, glabrous or slightly silky hairy above and silky hairy below.
Flower conspicuous:
Conspicuous
Flower colour:
Yellow
Flower description:
Single, very short lived yellow flowers, about 2.5cm in diameter, with an unpleasant, urine-like odour. Blooms for much of the year.
Fruit conspicuous:
Conspicuous
Fruit colour:
Brown, Orange
Fruit:
Fruit description:
Brown, succulent, open when ripe. Seed enclosed in an orange aril. January to April.
Habitat:
Beach strand, coastal dune, open forest, rainforest.
Distribution
Queensland, New South Wales, New Guinea.
Food source for:
Seed and/or fruit eaten by the brown cuckoo dove, green catbird, olive backed oriole, pied currawong, paradise riflebird, regent and satin bowerbirds and Lewin’s honeyeater. Arval food plant of the moth Phricanthes asperana, and the hawk moth Gnathothlibus erotus subsp. eras and the vine hawk moth Theretra oldenlandiae.
Toxicity:
The fruit is toxic to humans, causing an alarming constriction of the throat.
Origin:
Australia, New Guinea.
Notes:
Used in horticulture. Grow from seed.
Information sources:
Melzer R. & Plumb J. (2007) Plants of Capricornia.
