Photo: Tatiana Gerus from Brisbane, Australia, CC BY 2.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Wonga Wonga Vine

Pandorea pandorana

Also known as Wonga Vine, Wongawonga Vine

At a glance

Family

Bignoniaceae (the trumpet vine family)

Type

Woody, evergreen twining climber

Parts used

Stems and bark, historically prized for fiber; flowers and foliage valued ornamentally

Size

Climbs 10 to 20 feet (3 to 6 meters), occasionally higher when it finds a tree to lean on

Bloom

Late winter into spring, in loose sprays of small tubular flowers, cream to pale yellow with a maroon-freckled throat

Habitat

Rainforest margins, eucalypt woodland, and coastal scrub across eastern and northern Australia, New Guinea, and parts of the western Pacific

Acquisition

Grow

This plant in HerbSense

Key benefits

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Fast, dense garden screening

Draws native bees and birds

Fragrant spring flower clusters

Tough, low-fuss climber

Traditional uses

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Long before it found its way into ornamental gardens, Wonga Wonga Vine was a working plant for the Aboriginal peoples of eastern Australia, who prized its long, pliable stems for cordage. Twisted and dried, the vine's tough fibers were worked into fishing lines, string, and the woven dilly bags used to carry food and belongings. It was a plant valued for what it could do with the hands rather than what it could do for the body, a quiet reminder that not every useful herb ends up in a teacup. Today it is grown mostly for the beauty of its scrambling habit and its perfumed, speckled-throated flowers.

How to grow & use it

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The full apothecary for Wonga Wonga Vine

Traditional remedies and step-by-step preparations, a complete growing guide, and how to harvest, dry, and store it, all unlocked with HerbLens Unlimited.

✦Remedies & preparations
✦ Growing guide
✦Harvest & storage

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Choose it when

“For the gardener who wants a fence or arbor wrapped in green year round, with a spring perfume that stops you mid-step.”

Did you know?

The name Wonga Wonga comes from the language of the Aboriginal peoples of the Sydney basin, and the vine's wiry, fibrous stems were once twisted into cord strong enough to bind fishing lines and weave dilly bags, a craft that shaped its everyday value long before anyone planted it for its flowers.

Safety

Not eaten; like other Bignoniaceae, its sap and seed pods can irritate skin or the stomach, so handle cuttings with care and keep them away from children and pets.