Nekemias arborea
Credits
Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles
Recommended citation
'Nekemias arborea' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.
Common Names
- Pepper Vine
Synonyms
- Vitis arborea L.
- Ampelopsis bipinnata Michx.
- Ampelopsis arborea (L.) Koehne
Editorial Note
Treated by Bean as Ampelopsis arborea. See the genus entry for a discussion of the taxonomy.
A deciduous climber, with slender, purplish, nearly or quite glabrous, somewhat angular, zigzag shoots, slightly marked with lenticels; tendrils slender, forked. Leaves 5 to 8 in. long, about as much wide, doubly (sometimes trebly) pinnate, and composed of numerous stalked leaflets, which are ovate, 1⁄2 to 13⁄4 in. long, 1⁄3 to 11⁄4 in. wide; sometimes lobed, always with very large, sharp, triangular teeth, the apex pointed, the base narrowly to broadly wedge-shaped; dark green and glabrous above; at first downy on the veins and in the vein-axils beneath, ultimately nearly or quite glabrous. Flowers in open, long-stalked cymes. Berries dark purple, about 1⁄3 in. in diameter.
Native of the southern United States; introduced in 1700, and quite hardy, although better against a wall than in the open. It is a very handsome climber when in vigorous growth, but although it flowers occasionally, rarely develops fruit with us. Perhaps partially or wholly evergreen in warmer climates. (See also the comment under Ampelopsis orientalis.)