Five-leaf Water Vine
Cissus hypoglauca

Family: Vitaceae

What it is like

An evergreen vine. It climbs to 4-25 m high and spreads 2 m across. The stem is woody, thick and four angled. It has tendrils. It is a vigorous climber. The young shoots have rusty hairs. The leaves are dark green on top and bluish green underneath. They have 5 oval leaflets arranged like fingers on a hand and on long leaf stalks. The leaflets are 5-8 cm long. They are unequal in shape. The flowers are yellow and in dense heads opposite the leaves. The flowers are about 4 mm across. The fruit are bluish black and juicy. They are round berries 2 cm across. They occur in bunches along the stem. There are 1-4 seeds per fruit and they are 4-7 mm across. The berries are edible.

There are about 200-350 Cissus species. There are about 75 species in tropical America.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It prefers medium to heavy soils. It suits a protected, shady position. It is frost resistant but drought tender. It needs a temperature above 7°C to grow. It grows in rainforests. It suits hardiness zones 9-11. Arboretum Tasmania.

Countries/locations it is found in

Australia (country/location of origin), Pacific, Papua New Guinea, Tasmania

How it is used for food

The fruit are eaten. The skin needs to be avoided. They can be cooked or used for jam.

Edible parts

Fruit, stems - water

How it is grown

Plants are grown from fresh seeds or cuttings.

The fruit are ripe March to May.

Its other names

Local names

Billangai, Five-leaf native grape, Water vine, Wild grape

Synonyms

Cissus australasica F. Muell.; Nothocissus hypoglauca (A. Gray) Latiff; Vitis hypoglauca F. Muell.;