FoI
Virginia Creeper
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Virginia Creeper
ntroduced Photo: Gurcharan Singh
Common name: Virginia Creeper, five-leaved ivy
Botanical name: Parthenocissus quinquefolia    Family: Vitaceae (Grape family)

Virginia creeper is a woody vine native to North America. It is a prolific climber, reaching heights of 20-30 m in the wild. It climbs smooth surfaces using small forked tendrils tipped with small strongly adhesive pads 5 mm in size. The leaves are palmately compound, composed of five leaflets, 3-20 cm across. The leaflets have a toothed margin. Flowers are small, greenish, produced in clusters in late spring, and mature in late summer or early fall into small hard purplish-black berries 5-7 mm diameter. These berries contain oxalic acid, which is poisonous to humans and other mammals, and may be fatal if eaten. Virginia Creeper is commonly grown on house walls in Kashmir.

Identification credit: Gurcharan Singh
Photographed in Botanical Garden, Srinagar, Kashmir.
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