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Fragrant thunbergia (Thunbergia fragrans)

Fragrant thunbergia is cultivated for its attractive white flowers and has been recorded at several coastal locations in eastern Queensland. It is regarded as a potentially significant environmental weed in Queensland.

Key facts

Type: Weed, vine and creeper.

Native to: Indian subcontinent, south-eastern Asia and China.

Established in: QLD.

Other names: angel wings, sweet clock vine, white clockvine, white lady.

Best time to act: Look for it throughout the year, with flowering most common in summer and autumn.

Identification

  • A low-growing, spreading creeper or climbing vine with slender, four-angled stems that may be hairy when young.
  • Its opposite leaves are egg-shaped to somewhat triangular, with arrow-shaped bases and margins that may be slightly lobed, toothed or almost entire.
  • White tubular flowers, about 4–6 cm across, grow singly or in pairs and have two leafy bracts at the base.
  • Each flower has a narrow tube and five broad petal lobes; flowering occurs throughout the year, mostly in summer and autumn.
  • The fruit is an almost-rounded capsule topped by a long, thick beak up to 2 cm long.
  • Look-alike: Blue trumpet vine and laurel clock vine have much larger, usually blue or purplish flowers with broad, pale yellowish throats; black-eyed Susan has smaller flowers that are usually orange with a dark throat.
  • Look-alike: Native thunbergia is very similar, but its white flowers are bell-shaped with a relatively broad throat, rather than having the narrow throat of fragrant thunbergia.

Where it grows

In Australia it has been recorded at several locations in coastal eastern Queensland and is a potential weed of closed forests, forest margins, watercourses, urban bushland, disturbed sites, roadsides and plantation crops in tropical and subtropical regions.

Why it matters

  • It is regarded as a potentially significant environmental weed in Queensland.
  • It is identified as a potential weed of forests, riparian areas, urban bushland, disturbed sites, roadsides and plantation crops in tropical and subtropical regions.

How it spreads

  • It reproduces by seed and vegetatively from stem and root fragments.
  • Spread is usually facilitated by garden cultivation, followed by seeds and stem fragments being carried in dumped garden waste.

Control options

  • In Queensland, landowners must take reasonable steps to keep land free of this species.
  • Introduction into Queensland and sale of the plant or its seed are prohibited under the stated Queensland requirements.
  • The species is listed as prohibited in Western Australia and is not permitted entry into the state.
  • The Biosecurity Queensland fact sheet on thunbergia species is identified as a management resource.

Hygiene and washdown

  • Do not dump garden waste containing this vine, as its seeds and stem fragments can be spread that way.
  • Inspect and clean vehicles, plant and footwear before leaving an infested area, paying attention to tyres, radiators, belly plates, tracks and floor mats.
  • Wash down at a designated bay where runoff is contained and can be monitored for seedlings.
  • Record each washdown so the client has evidence of clean entry and exit.

Classification by state

  • Australia (national): No national listing. Managed under state and territory law.
  • Queensland: Not prohibited or restricted. Not listed as prohibited or restricted matter in Queensland. Everyone must also take all reasonable and practical steps to minimise its risks (the general biosecurity obligation).
  • New South Wales: Not a priority weed. Not a state or regional priority weed in NSW. The general biosecurity duty applies: anyone dealing with it must prevent, eliminate or minimise the risk it poses.
  • Victoria: Not declared. Not declared under the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994. Other Victorian laws may still apply.
  • South Australia: Not declared. Not declared under the Landscape South Australia Act 2019. Other laws may still apply.
  • Western Australia: Not listed. Not found in the Western Australian Organism List. Check with DPIRD before moving or keeping it.
  • Tasmania: Not declared. Not a declared weed in Tasmania. Other laws may still apply.
  • Northern Territory: Not declared. Not on the NT A to Z weed list, and Weeds Australia does not list it as declared in the NT. Check the NT declared weeds list before moving or planting it.
  • Australian Capital Territory: Not declared. Not declared under the Biosecurity Act 2023 (ACT). A general biosecurity duty still applies.

Legal obligations

Every state and territory places a duty on landholders and people working on land to prevent the spread of invasive species, such as the general biosecurity obligation in Queensland and the general biosecurity duty in New South Wales. Declarations and control requirements differ between states and local government areas, so check the current official list before work starts.

  • Queensland: Biosecurity Act 2014 (Qld), administered by Biosecurity Queensland (13 25 23)

Sources