Parthenocissus vitacea
Encyclopedia
Parthenocissus vitacea (syn. P. inserta), also known as Thicket Creeper, False Virginia Creeper, Woodbine, or Grape Woodbine, is a woody vine
native to North America
, in southeastern Canada
(west to southern Manitoba
) and a large area of the United States
, from Maine
west to Montana
and south to New Jersey
and Missouri
in the east, and Texas
to Arizona
in the west. It is present in California
, but it may be an introduced species
that far west.
It is a prolific climber, reaching heights of 20–30 m in the wild, using small branched tendrils with twining tips. The leaves
are palmately compound, composed of five leaflets, and range from 3–20 cm across. The leaflets have a toothed margin.
The flower
s are small and greenish, produced in clusters in late spring, and mature in late summer or early fall into small hard purplish-black berries 5–7 mm diameter. These berries contain oxalic acid
, which is only very moderately poisonous. They provide an important winter food source for bird
s.
It is very closely related to Virginia Creeper (P. quinquefolia), differing only in its means of climbing, the tendrils twining around plant stems, not having the sticky pads found on the tendrils of Virginia Creeper. One consequence of this is that (unlike Virginia Creeper) it cannot climb smooth walls, only through shrubs and trees. The leaf shape, and also the brilliant fall colors, are indistinguishable from Virginia Creeper.
Vine
A vine in the narrowest sense is the grapevine , but more generally it can refer to any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent, that is to say climbing, stems or runners...
native to North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, in southeastern Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
(west to southern Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
) and a large area of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, from Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
west to Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
and south to New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
in the east, and Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
to Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
in the west. It is present in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, but it may be an introduced species
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
that far west.
It is a prolific climber, reaching heights of 20–30 m in the wild, using small branched tendrils with twining tips. The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are palmately compound, composed of five leaflets, and range from 3–20 cm across. The leaflets have a toothed margin.
The flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are small and greenish, produced in clusters in late spring, and mature in late summer or early fall into small hard purplish-black berries 5–7 mm diameter. These berries contain oxalic acid
Oxalic acid
Oxalic acid is an organic compound with the formula H2C2O4. This colourless solid is a dicarboxylic acid. In terms of acid strength, it is about 3,000 times stronger than acetic acid. Oxalic acid is a reducing agent and its conjugate base, known as oxalate , is a chelating agent for metal cations...
, which is only very moderately poisonous. They provide an important winter food source for bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s.
It is very closely related to Virginia Creeper (P. quinquefolia), differing only in its means of climbing, the tendrils twining around plant stems, not having the sticky pads found on the tendrils of Virginia Creeper. One consequence of this is that (unlike Virginia Creeper) it cannot climb smooth walls, only through shrubs and trees. The leaf shape, and also the brilliant fall colors, are indistinguishable from Virginia Creeper.