Species: Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)
Family: Vines and creepers (VITACEAE)
Category: Flowering Plants
Location: SE
A. Flowering Plants
More extensive information on flowering plants can be found in a separate blog post.
B. Vines and creepers (VITACEAE)
The Vitaceae family of flowering plants consists of nearly a thousand different species, many of which produce berries (or grapes).
C. Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)
The Virginia Creeper is a large deciduous climbing plant which is often vigorous and prolific. Its distinctive leaves have five elliptical leaflets hence the Latin name quinquefolia. The Parthenocissus part of its Latin name means 'virgin ivy' and does not refer to the American state of Virginia. (In America it is often called a 'woodbine'.)
Virginia Creepers produce branched tendrils that cling tenaciously to walls and other vertical surfaces (which it doesn't harm). They produce small green flowers and their leaves turn red in autumn. It is a perennial. The example in the Cemetery cascades over the walls in the south-east corner.
The plant is invasive and care needs to be taken that it doesn't crowd out other flowering plants. Such is the threat posed by Virginia Creeper to native wildflowers that it has been listed under Schedule 9 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981. This means that it is an offence to plant Virginia Creeper - or cause it to grow - in the wild.
The berries of the Virginia Creeper provide an important food source for certain birds, but to people it can be toxic as they contain oxalic acid which can cause kidney damage. Do NOT eat these berries!
Images
Virginia Creeper
The Virginia Creeper is a large deciduous climbing plant. The example in the Cemetery cascades over the walls in the south-east corner.
Virginia Creeper
The Virginia Creeper has distinctive leaves with five elliptical leaflets (hence the Latin name quinquefolia). It produces branched tendrils that cling tenaciously to walls and other vertical surfaces. It produces small green flowers and its leaves turn red in autumn.
