Ventilago viminalis, commonly known as Supplejack, Vine Tree or whip vine, is a tree native to Northern and Central Australia

Central Australia

Central Australia/Alice Springs Region is one of the five regions in the Northern Territory. The term Central Australia is used to describe an area centred on Alice Springs in Australia. It is sometimes referred to as Centralia; likewise the people of the area are sometimes called Centralians...

 from coastal regions of Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

 to the central deserts of the Northern Territory

Northern Territory

The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...

.

The plant begins life as a scrambler, using other trees, shrubs and even grasses for support. As it ages the stem becomes increasingly woody and the plant eventually develops a growth form more typical of a tree. The tree can reach 10 metres in height. Leaves are pendulous, grey-green and lanceolate. Flowers are green to green-white. Flowering season varies depending on rainfall. The fruits shown on the accompanying illustration are misleading as the artist has shown them standing upwards on the branch, while actually they hang downwards.

Australian Aborigines

Australian Aborigines

Australian Aborigines , also called Aboriginal Australians, from the latin ab originem , are people who are indigenous to most of the Australian continentthat is, to mainland Australia and the island of Tasmania...

 eat the gum from this tree. They scrape it off as it comes through, twisting it onto a stick. It can be chewed like chewing gum

Chewing gum

Chewing gum is a type of gum traditionally made of chicle, a natural latex product, or synthetic rubber known as polyisobutylene. For economical and quality reasons, many modern chewing gums use rubber instead of chicle...

. The supplejack in Arrernte is called Atnyerampwe, and the gum is Ngwarle atnyerampwe.