Virginia Creeper

Virginia creeper vine or Virginia real virgin (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) is a shrub, scandent Vitaceae family, native to North America and widely cultivated as ornamental vine for its decorative foliage that makes a beautiful scarlet color in autumn .

Description

Virginia creeper Virginia is a climbing shrub (vine) with sturdy stems, very vigorous, up to 20 m high. Young shoots are reddish.

Leaves are digitate compound to five (sometimes three or seven) leaflets elliptic 5-14 cm long, acuminate, margins with long teeth mucronate. Greenish-gray, they saw the scarlet in autumn. In contrast to the insertion point of the leaf on the stem are either spin or an inflorescence.

Each spin was July-August ramifications young bend at apex to form a small hook. Contact with a surface it can then give a releasing adhesive pad adhesive substances.

The flowers are in racemes of cymes biparous. They consist of an entire cup, 5 free petals, five stamens opposite the petals and an ovary conical. Flowering occurs in June-July.

The fruit is a berry 6-12 mm diameter, blue black, slightly bloom. They contain oxalic acid which is a compound toxic to mammals but does not prevent the birds (eg starlings) to eat in winter.



Source: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenocissus_quinquefolia

See Also: International Flower Delivery, Florist