Parsonsia brownii is a woody vine

Vine

A vine in the narrowest sense is the grapevine , but more generally it can refer to any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent, that is to say climbing, stems or runners...

 of the dogbane family, Apocynaceae

Apocynaceae

The Apocynaceae or dogbane family is a family of flowering plants that includes trees, shrubs, herbs, and lianas.Many species are tall trees found in tropical rainforests, and most are from the tropics and subtropics, but some grow in tropical dry, xeric environments. There are also perennial herbs...

. It occurs in rainforest

Rainforest

Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...

 in the states of New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

 and Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

 in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

.

Description

The species climbs to 10 or more metres in height and has a watery sap. The glossy leaves

Leaf

A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....

 are lanceolate, up to 20 centimetres long and 4 centimetres wide, and taper towards the tip. Juvenile leaves are narrower and new growth is down-covered. Small, sweetly-scented yellow and brown flowers are produced in loose terminal panicle

Panicle

A panicle is a compound raceme, a loose, much-branched indeterminate inflorescence with pedicellate flowers attached along the secondary branches; in other words, a branched cluster of flowers in which the branches are racemes....

s between August and December. These are followed by long, slender pods which are 5 to 10 centimetres in length.

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described as Lyonsia brownii by botanist James Britten

James Britten

James Britten was an English botanist.-Biography:Born in Chelsea, London, he moved to High Wycombe in 1865 to begin a medical career. However he became increasingly interested in botany, and began writing papers on the subject...

  in Journal of Botany, British and Foreign

Journal of Botany, British and Foreign

Journal of Botany, British and Foreign is a monthly journal that was edited by Berthold Carl Seemann between 1863–1871....

in 1907. The species was placed in the genus Parsonsia

Parsonsia

Parsonsia is a genus of woody vines of the dogbane family, Apocynaceae. Species occur from South East Asia to New Guinea as well as in New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, Australia and New Zealand.-Description:...

by M. Pichon in 1950 in Notulae Systematicae. The names Lysonia straminea and Parsonsia straminea

Parsonsia straminea

Parsonsia straminea is a woody vine of the dogbane family, Apocynaceae. It occurs in the states of New South Wales and Queensland in Australia....

have been misapplied to this species in the past.

Cultivation

The species is not commonly cultivated and is considered too vigorous for most gardens. It requires cool, moist conditions. Plants are commercially available from local indigenous plant nurseries.