Virginia Creeper
Parthenocissus quinquefolia

Family: Vitaceae

What it is like

A climber. It can be 30 m long. The leaves are made up of 3 or 5 leaflets. These have coarse teeth around the edge. The leaves are 12 cm long. The leaves turn bright red before falling off. The tendrils have suction cups.

There are about 10 Parthenocissus species.

Where it is found

It is a temperate plant. It grows in woods and on rocky banks. During the dormant stage plants can survive heavy frosts. It suits hardiness zones 3-10.

Countries/locations it is found in

Andorra, Argentina, Asia, Australia, Britain, Canada, Central America, Central Asia, China, Cuba, Europe, Guatemala, Indochina, Korea, Mexico, North America, SE Asia, South America, Tajikistan, Tasmania, Thailand, Turkey, Türkiye, USA (country/location of origin), West Indies

How it is used for food

The fruit is eaten raw. The stems are peeled then boiled. The root is used cooked.

Edible parts

Fruit, root, stem

How it is grown

Plants can be grown from seed. Stored seed needs cold treatment by being stored at 5°C for 6 weeks. Cuttings of half ripe wood can be used. They should be 7-10 cm long. They can also be grown from basal hardwood cuttings and by layering. The plants make a good ground cover when spaced about 3 m apart. It is a vigorous climber and ground cover plant.

It is fast growing. Fruit is only produced after a long hot summer.

Its other names

Local names

Virginia-creeper, Woodbind, Woodbine, Yaban Asmasi

Synonyms

Ampelocissus cirrhata Voss; Ampelociccus major Voss; Ampelocissus hederacea DC.; Ampelopsis hederacea (Ehrh.) DC.; Ampelopsis heptaphylla Buckley; Ampelopsis himalayana Dippel; Ampelopsis hirsuta (Pursh) Donn ex Schult.; Ampelopsis latifolia Tausch; Ampelopsis quinquefolia Michx.; Ampelopsis roylei Dippel; Ampelopsis saint-paulii (Rehder) Rehder; Ampelopsis virginiana Dippel; Cissus hederacea Pers.; Cissus hirsuta Steud.; Cissus quinquefolia Desf.; Cissus quinquefolia (L.) Borkh.; Hedera carnosa W. Bartram; Hedera quinquefolia L.; Parthenocissus dumetorum (Focke) Rehder; Parthenocissus engelmannii Koehne & Graebn.; Parthenocissus heptaphylla (Buckley) Britton ex Small; Psedera heptaphylla (Buckley) Rehder; Psedera quinquefolia (L.) Greene; Quinaria quinquefolia (L.) Koehne; Vitis hederacea Ehrh.; Vitis heptaphylla (Buckley) Britton; Vitis quinquefolia ((L.) Lam.;