Parthenocissus quinquefolia
Virginia Creeper
Woodbine
Florida native
A frequent vine of hammocks and floodplain forests in most of Florida. The range extends throughout much of North America east of the Rocky Mountains.
A woody vine that climbs by means of adhesive tendrils. The alternate leaves are variable, but always palmately divided and nearly always with five leaflets. The leaflets may be toothed or doubly toothed, with shapes of lanceolate, oblanceolate or obovate. The flowers are tiny, varying from yellowish-green to greenish-red in clusters branching from a central axis.The fruit is a dark blue to black berry 8-9mm (~ 1/3 in.) in diameter and somewhat flattened at the apex.
Parthenocissus is derived from the Greek words partheno and kissos, or cissus in Latin. Partheno means maiden or virgin and in biology usually means "without fertilization". Cissus & kissos are ivy in English. The specific name quinquefolia means five-leaved.
Parthenocissus quinquefolia is a member of the Vitaceae - Grape family.
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (Institute for Systemic Botany) profile for this species
USDA Plant Profile for this species
Date record last modified: Jun 18, 2022