Please select root levels for the menu
NZ Plants
Parsonsia heterophylla - kaiwhiria, New Zealand jasmine
family: Apocynaceae
-
Upper branch
L Jensen
View picture -
Leaves, smooth margin
L Jensen
View picture -
Leaves, wavy margin
L Jensen
View picture -
Stem with joined leaf bases
L Jensen
View picture -
Stipules
L Jensen
View picture -
Stipule detail
L Jensen
View picture -
Stem,hairs
L Jensen
View picture -
Leaf upper surface
L Jensen
View picture -
Leaf, lower surface
L Jensen
View picture -
Flower arrangement
L Jensen
View picture -
Flower, side view
L Jensen
View picture -
Petals removed. Finger-like glands surround the base of the ovary and alternate with stamen stalks (filaments) which converge around the style.
L Jensen
View picture -
Each filament terminates in an anther with an expanded scale (connective) in the shape of an elongated arrow-head.
L Jensen
View picture -
Stamen filaments terminate in five anthers which converge around the stigma
L Jensen
View picture -
Detached anther with two pollen sacs to the inside of the scale
L Jensen
View picture -
Older flower, petal tube, stamens and style have been shed to expose five greenish glandular sepal scales.
L Jensen
View picture -
Young fruit
L Jensen
View picture -
Mature fruit
L Jensen
View picture -
Seed
L Jensen
View picture
Parsonsia heterophylla is a high climbing vine with sweet-scented blooms. The highly variable form of leaves on the protracted juvenile phase can make identification difficult to the inexperienced. Its narrow capsules with plumed seeds are a distinctive feature. A genus of vines with about 130 species found in Tropical Asia, Australia and with three species endemic to New Zealand. Named after James Parsons (1705-1770) a London physician known for his writings on medicine and natural history.
An endemic species found in lowland and montane open forest throughout the country.
Vegetative characteristics |
Reproductive characteristics |
---|---|
Plant form: vine |
Arrangement of parts: symmetric |
Flower size: 4-6 mm diam. X 7-10 mm long |
|
Leaf form: undivided, ovate to linear to lobed |
Sepals: 5 |
Leaf size: 5-7 cm |
Petals: 5, white to yellow |
Leaf arrangement: in opposite pairs |
Sexuality: bisexual |
Leaf attachment: |
Stamens: 5 |
Leaf margin: smooth to sinuate |
Ovary: above petals |
Leaf surface: hairless |
Fruit: dry pod |