Cross Timbers

Gateway from forest to prairie

5th poster of the
Biodiversity of Oklahoma series

Virginia Creeper

Parthenocissus quinquefolia

Family: Vitaceae (grape)

Woody vine, high-climbing by branched tendrils tipped with adhesive disks. Leaves long-petioled, palmately compound. Leaflets usually 5 (3-7), elliptic to obovate, to 15 cm (6 in) long and 8 cm (3 in) wide, acuminate, coarsely serrate above the middle of the blade, glabrous and dull green above, paler and sometimes pubescent below. Inflorescence a panicle of cymes. Flowers small, numerous, yellowish-green, blooming in late Spring or early Summer. Fruits black or dark blue drupes, globose, 5-9 mm (0.2-0.4 in) in diameter, with 1-3 seeds, ripening in Fall.

Distribution: Native to the eastern half of the U. S., southeastern Canada, and northeastern Mexico.
Habitat: Bottomland forests, oak-hickory forests, Cross Timbers.
NWI status: FAC
Comment: Virginia creeper is one of the most common plants in the forests of Oklahoma. It is also widely planted as an ornamental, since it is able to climb brick and stone walls. Parthenocissus is from a Greek phrase meaning "virgin ivy"; quinquefolia refers to the five leaflets.

From the Catalog of the Woody Plants of Oklahoma by Johnson & Hoagland.

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The Biodiversity of Oklahoma poster series is a project of the Oklahoma Biological Survey and the University of Oklahoma.
For more information contact the Priscilla Crawford, at prill@ou.edu or 405-325-7658.