Plants of
South Australia
Pandorea pandorana
Bignoniaceae
Wonga Vine,
Spearwood
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Regional Species Conservation Assessments per IBRA subregion.
Least concern
Near threatened
Rare
Vulnerable
Endangered
Critically endangered
Extinct
Data deficient
Adelaide
Arkaroola
Ceduna
Coober Pedy
Hawker
Innamincka
Marla
Marree
Mount Gambier
Oodnadatta
Renmark
Wudinna
Keith
Yunta
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Botanical art

Kath Alcock paintings: 4

Prior names

Tecoma oxleyi

Tecoma pandorana

Bignonia pandorana

Pandorea australis, nom. illeg., nom. superfl.

Pandorea doratoxylon

Tecoma doratoxylon

Tecoma australis, nom.illeg., nom.superfl.

Common names

Wonga Vine

Spearwood

Etymology

Pandorea named after Pandora's box. Spach, the author of the name, is said to have been reminded of it when he saw the seed pod. Pandorana named after the Greek goddess Pandora, in reference to the seed capsule's resemblance to Pandora's box.

Distribution and status

Found in the far north-western corner of South Australia, growing in rocky areas along water courses. Also found in all States. Native. Common in South Australia. Rare in Tasmania (Flinders Island). Uncommon in Western Australia. Common in the other States.
Herbarium region: North Western
NRM region: Alinytjara Wilurara
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Glabrous vine to 6 m high, with many ascending wiry stems and other branches twining around them. Leaflets in 2-5 pairs; narrow-lanceolate, to 50 mm long and 10 mm wide, broader and sometimes longer outside arid regions. Flower-spikes several to many-flowered with funnel-shaped flowers, cream with red-brown markings inside the broad open tube. Flowering between August to November. Fruits are dark brown oblong-ellipsoid, somewhat compressed, capsule to 70 mm long and 20 mm wide, with thick woody valves. Seeds are orange, semi-flat ovoid seed to 10 mm long and 7 mm wide, with papery wing.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between October and December. Collect capsules that are maturing, turning brown and contain hard, orange seeds inside or capsules that are split but have not released their seeds. Place the capsules in a tray and leave to dry for one to two weeks or until they split. Then break and shake the capsules gently by hand to dislodge the seeds. Use a sieve to separate the unwanted material. Store the seeds with a desiccant such as dried silica beads or dry rice, in an air tight container in a cool and dry place. From one collection. the seed viability was high, at 100%. Seeds are non-dormant, viable seed should germinate readily.

Seeds stored:
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LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)
Number
of plants
Date
collected
Collection number
Collection location
Date
stored
% ViabilityStorage
temperature
BGA 
MSB
4,000 (47 g)
3,300 (40 g)
30+30-Oct-2013TST1184
North Western
24-Mar-2015100%-18°C
Location: BGA — the seeds are stored at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, MSB — the seeds are stored at the Millennium Seed Bank, Kew, England.
Number of plants: This is the number of plants from which the seeds were collected.
Collection location: The Herbarium of South Australia's region name.
% Viability: Percentage of filled healthy seeds determined by a cut test or x-ray.
Germination table:
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