Cocculus

In the outdoor garden this genus is at present represented by three species, two of them climbers, the other an evergreen shrub. They are nearly allied to the ‘moon-seeds’ (Menispermum), but differ in having six petals and six stamens, whilst Menispermum has six to eight petals and twelve to twenty-four stamens and peltate leaves. The flowers are small, inconspicuous, and unisexual. The climbing species are of the easiest cultivation, growing in any soil of moderate quality, and easily propagated by division or pieces of root. They may be trained up rough branches of oak or supports of a similar nature. Their beauty, apart from the luxuriant foliage, is in their red or purplish-blue berries.