Habitat

• native to northeastern United States down through Florida
• hardy to zone 4; warmer parts of 3

Habit and Form

• a deciduous vine with tendrils
• tendrils are branched (5 to 8 branchlets)
• tendrils branchlets end in suction cup holdfasts
• needs no support
• 30' to 50' tall (variable)
• fast growth rate
• medium texture

Summer Foliage

• alternate arranged leaves
• palmately compound leaves, 3 to 5 leaflets
• leaves are up to 4" long
• serrated leaf margin
• dark green leaf color
• new growth bronze

Autumn Foliage

• purple to red fall color develops early
• leaves drop early

Flowers

• greenish white flowers
• blooms in June
• flowers form terminal panicles
• not impressive or ornamentally important

Fruit

• bluish berries
• 0.25" in diameter
• ripens in September
• birds enjoy fruit
• visible after leaf fall
• fruit borne on red pedicles

Bark

• concave leaf scars
• exfoliating bark
• tan color
• prominent lenticels

Culture

• best transplanted form containers
• tolerant of most soil conditions
• full sun to full shade
• salt tolerant
• tolerant of most all conditions

Landscape Use

• wall cover
• trellises
• for fall color

Liabilities

• can become invasive
• holdfasts can be hard to remove from buildings
• leaf spot
• canker and scale
• leaf hoppers

ID Features

• blue fruit borne on red pedicles
• alternate leaf arrangement
• palmately compound leaves
• oval shaped hold fasts

Propagation

• by cuttings
• by seed

Cultivars/Varieties

'Monham' (Star Showers®) (probably the same as 'Variegata') - The only commonly offered cultivar, this variegated form is appearing with more regularity in the catalogs of specialty nurseries. It features leaves wildly splashed with sectors of white, cream and green. The foliage can have a pinkish cast, as well. It is not as vigorous as the species.