Parthenocissus

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Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Parthenocissus' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/parthenocissus/). Accessed 2024-10-12.

Family

Vitaceae

Species in genus

Glossary

ovary: Lowest part of the carpel containing the ovules; later developing into the fruit.
alternate: Attached singly along the axis not in pairs or whorls.
berry: Fleshy indehiscent fruit with seed(s) immersed in pulp.
compound: Made up or consisting of two or more similar parts (e.g. a compound leaf is a leaf with several leaflets).
included: (botanical) Contained within another part or organ.
ovary: Lowest part of the carpel containing the ovules; later developing into the fruit.
simple: (of a leaf) Unlobed or undivided.

References

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Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Parthenocissus' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/parthenocissus/). Accessed 2024-10-12.

Parthenocissus tricuspidata rather spectacularly covering some buildings in Rome (August 2011) Image John Grimshaw.

A genus of about ten species of deciduous (rarely evergreen) climbers, natives of N. America, E. Asia, and the Himalaya. Tendrils branched, twining or equipped with adhesive pads. Leaves alternate, palmately compound, sometimes simple and three-lobed, or unlobed. Flowers in cymose panicles. Petals four or five, spreading (hence differing from Vitis, in which the petals are united in a cap which falls without expanding). Ovary included in the disk (in Ampelopsis the disk is cup-like and free from the ovary). Fruit a dark blue or black berry, with one to four seeds.

The generic name, meaning ‘Virgin Vine’, derives from the French name for the Virginia creeper – vigne-vierge.

Parthenocissus quinquefolia scrambling through dune thicket vegetation (Assateague Island, Maryland, July 2010). Image John Grimshaw.

Parthenocissus henryana starts the ascent of a Douglas-fir at the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden, Washington (June 2023). Image John Grimshaw.

Parthenocissus inserta from Massachusetts thriving at the Yorkshire Arboretum, UK (July 2024). Image John Grimshaw.

Five-foliolate leaves on Parthenocissus thomsonii (Jardin Botanique Strasbourg, France – 12 July 2022). Image © Jan De Langhe - Arboretum Wespelaar.

Trifoliate leaves on Parthenocissus himalayana, with the lateral leaflets very oblique (Arboretum Wespelaar, Belgium – 9 September 2020). Image © Jan De Langhe - Arboretum Wespelaar.

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