Vines, ferns and shadows
By: Michael Fox
In some parts of Roly Chapman Bushland Reserve you would think you were in a rainforest miles from anywhere, not in the middle of Brisbane.
One feature of the habitat is the Monkey-rope Vine Parsonsia straminea snaking up the paperbark trees all surrounded by a forest of ferns and deep shadows.
Roly Chapman micro-climate is very different to most of Mt Gravatt Conservation Reserve, riparian woodland with permanent water in Mimosa Creek. Paperbark trees, Willow Bottlebrush Callistemon salignus, are a significant feature in this wet habitat.
Monkey Rope Vine
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Marshal and I discovered this massive vine once Small Leafed Privet Ligustrum sinense and Easter Cassia Senna pendula var glabrata were cleared. The thickest Monkey Rope Vine I have found, this seems to be three or four vines that have fused together as they grew.
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Monkey-rope Vine climbing high
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Parsonsia vines are quite aggressive growing high in the trees and even pulling large trees down.
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Common Crow Euploea core
caterpillar
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Parsonsia vines may damage the trees however they are also a caterpillar food plant for Common Crow Euploea core caterpillars.
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Blue Tiger sex brand
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While male Blue Tiger Tirumala hamata may be seen on Parsonsia straminea vines scratching the leaves and collecting alkaloids to be converted to pheromones and stored in sex brands to attract females.
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Blue Tiger claws
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How can a delicate butterfly scratch a leaf?
Claws. Blue Tiger butterfly claws may be tiny but they are every bit as business like as their namesake cats.
Mount Gravatt Environment Group 