Cissus quadrangularis

• Overview
• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Overview

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Description

Family Vitaceae

Woody climbers , sometimes vines , rarely small succulent trees , hermaphroditic or polygamo-monoecious to polygamo-dioecious . Stems unarmed , sometimes with conspicuous lenticels , or bark sometimes shredding (in most species of Vitis) ; branches often swollen at 3-7-lacunar nodes; pith continuous or interrupted by diaphragms at nodes; tendrils simple , bifurcate to trifurcate , or 4-12-branched (in Parthenocissus), usually leaf-opposed, rarely tendrils absent. Raphide sacs present in parenchymatous tissues . Leaves simple, lobed or unlobed, or digitately or pedately compound to 1-3-pinnately compound, alternate, distichous, variously toothed , commonly with multicellular , stalked , caducous spherical structures known as "pearl" glands ; stipules 2 or rarely absent, often caducous. Flowers small, with prophylls, in panicles, corymbs, or rarely spikes, often leaf-opposite, pseudo-terminal , or axillary (in Cayratia and Tetrastigma), actinomorphic , hypogynous, 4- or 5(-7 as in Rhoicissus) -merous. Calyx with 4 or 5(-7) small teeth or lobes or a continuous ring. Petals valvate , 4 or 5(-7), free or basally connate , or distally connate forming a calyptra (e.g. , in Vitis) . Stamens 4 or 5(-7), antepetalous ; anthers introrse , dehiscing longitudinally, tetrasporangiate or rarely bisporangiate . Floral disk intrastaminal , ring-shaped, cupular, or gland-shaped. Ovary superior, 2-loculed; ovules 2 per locule; placentation axile , appearing nearly basal, apotropous or anatropous , bitegmic, crassinucellar; style simple, connate; stigma discoid or capitate, rarely 4-lobed (Tetrastigma), not papillate . Fruit a berry, 1-4-seeded. Seeds endotestal, with an abaxial chalazal knot and an adaxial raphe with 2 furrows , one on each side; embryo straight, small; endosperm oily, proteinaceous, copious , ruminate .

About 14 genera and ca. 900 species: worldwide, but mostly in tropical and subtropical regions; eight genera and 146 species (87 endemic, two introduced ) in China.

The family is important for grapes, wine, and raisins (especially Vitis vinifera, and several other species and hybrids of Vitis) . There are a few ornamental climbers in the genera Ampelopsis, Cissus, Parthenocissus, and Tetrastigma, of which Parthenocissus tricuspidata of China and Japan and P. quinquefolia of eastern North America are well-known examples. Some plants (e.g., Ampelopsis japonica, Cissus quadrangularis, and Tetrastigma hemsleyanum) are highly regarded medicines.[1]

Genus Cissus

Lianas, woody or subwoody, hermaphroditic or polygamo-monoecious . Tendrils unbranched or bifurcate , sometimes racemosely branched. Leaves simple or palmately compound . Inflorescence a compound dichasium or an umbel, leaf-opposed. Flowers 4-merous. Calyx cupular, glabrous . Petals falling off separately. Stamens 4. Disk well developed, margin undulate or slightly 4-lobed. Style conspicuous ; stigma undivided or 2-divided. Berry obovoid or ellipsoid , 1- or 2-seeded. Seeds obovoid-elliptic or elliptic , base rostrate , apex rounded , chalazal knot at or near base; cross-section of endosperm M-shaped.

About 350 species: mainly in tropical regions of Africa, Asia, Australia, Central and South America, and North America (Mexico) ; 15 species (two endemic) in China.[2]

Physical Description

Habitat

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 1,596 meters (0 to 5,236 feet).[3]

Biology

Growth

Culture: Space 15-18" apart.

Soil: Minimum pH: 6.1 • Maximum pH: 7.8

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Light Shade.

Moisture: Drought Tolerance: High

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 11. (map)

Taxonomy

Synonyms

Vitis Quadrangularis • Vitis quadrangularis (L.) Morales • Vitis quadrangularis (L.) Wall. Ex Wight

Notes

Publishing author : L. Publication : Syst. Nat., ed. 12. 2: 124 1767 [15-31 Oct 1767]

Similar Species

Members of the genus Cissus

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 24 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

C. antarctica (Kangaroo Ivy) · C. brevipedunculata (Amur Peppervine) · C. discolor (Painted Cissus) · C. erosa (Caro De Tres Hojas) · C. erosa erosa (Caro De Tres Hojas) · C. intermedia (Intermediate Treebine) · C. labrusca (Northern Fox Grape) · C. laciniata (Cut-Leaf Burr-Cucumber) · C. lanigera (Cissus) · C. nodosa (Javanese Treebine) · C. obovata (Spoonleaf Treebine) · C. quadrangularis (Veld Grape) · C. quadrangulus (Winged Treebine) · C. repens (Cissus) · C. rhombifolia (Grape Ivy) · C. rotundifolia (Arabian Wax Cissus) · C. striata (Miniature Grape Ivy) · C. trifolia (Threeleaf Cayratia) · C. trifoliata (Arizona Grape Ivy) · C. tuberculata (West Indian Treebine) · C. tuberosa (Cissus) · C. verticillata (Monkey Liana) · C. verticillata subsp. verticillata (Seasonvine) · C. vinifera (Wine Grape)

More Info

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Further Reading

• A bibliography of the botany of British India and Ceylon. Bombay, Times Press, 1911 url .
• A hand-book to the flora of Ceylon: containing descriptions of all the species of flowering plants indigenous to the island, and notes on their history, distribution, and uses: with an atlas of plates illustrating some of the more inte by Henry Trimen. London: Dulau, 1893-1931. url p. 216.
• A review of the identifications of the species described in Blanco's Flora de Filipinas, Manila, Bureau of public printing, 1905. url p. 33.
• A review of the references to the Hortus malabaricus of Henry Van Rheede Van Draakenstein [sic] Swansea: Printed at the Cambrian-Office, by Murray and Rees, 1839. url p. 34.
• An English index to the plants of India compiled by H. Piddington. Calcutta: Printed at the Baptist Mission Press, and sold by Messrs. Thacker and Co., 1832. url p. 226.
• An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants, Manila, Bureau of Printing, 1922-26. url p. 7.
• Catalogue of the African plants collected by Dr. Friedrich Welwitsch in 1853-61. .. London, Printed by order of the Trustees, 1896-1901. url p. 159.
• Check-list of the species of fishes known from the Philippine Archipelago, Manila, Bureau of printing, 1910. url p. 245, p. 343, p. 529.
• Companion to the Botanical magazine: being a journal, containing such interesting botanical information as does not come within the prescribed limits of the magazine; with occasional figures /by W.J. Hooker. 1 1835 London: Printed by E. Conchman. .. for the proprietor, S. Curtis, 1835-1836 [i.e., 1835-1837] url p. 345.
• Contributions from the United States National Herbarium 45 2003 Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1890- url p. 393, p. 407, p. 449, p. 509.
• Contributions to the flora of Siam [Aberdeen]Printed for the University1912- url p. 43.
• Contributions to the flora of Siam. .. / by William Grant Craib. .. [Aberdeen]: Printed for the University of Aberdeen, 1912- url p. 43.
• Flora of Jamaica, containing descriptions of the flowering plants known from the island, by William Fawcett and Alfred Barton Rendle. London.Printed by order of the Trustees of the British Museum, 1910- url p. 79.
• Hooker's journal of botany and Kew Garden miscellany. 9 1857 London: Reeve, Benham, and Reeve, 1849-1857. url p. 247, p. 248.
• Hooker, W. J. et al. Niger flora;or, An enumeration of the plants of western tropical Africa, collected by the late Dr. Theodore Vogel, botanist to the voyage of the expedition sent by Her Britannic Majesty to the river Niger in 1841, under the command of Capt. H. D. Trotter, R.N., &c.; including Spicilegia gorgonea, by P. B. Webb, esq., and Flora nigritiana, by Dr. J. D. Hooker. .. and George Bentham, esq. with a sketch of the life of Dr. Vogel. Ed. by Sir W. J. Hooker. .. With two views, a map, and fifty plates. 1849 London, H. Bailliere; [etc., etc.] 1849. url p. 268.
• Hortus suburbanus Calcuttensis; A catalogue of the plants which have been cultivated in the Hon. East India Company's botanical garden, Calcutta, and in the Serampore botanical garden. By the late J. O. Voigt, printed under the superintendence of W. Griffith. Calcutta, Bishop's College Press, 1845. url p. 27.
• IUCN Directory of Afrotropical Protected Areas IUCN, UNEP url p. 1015, p. 274, p. 526.
• Minor products of Philippine forests, Manila, Bureau of Printing, 1920-1921. url , , .
• Niger flora; or, An enumeration of the plants of western tropical Africa, collected by the late Dr. Theodore Vogel, botanist to the voyage of the expedition sent by Her Britannic Majesty to the river Niger in 1841, under the command of Capt. H. D. Trotter, R.N., &c.; includ London, H. Bailliere; [etc., etc.]1849. url p. 268.
• Plant Form OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS url p. 121, p. 324.
• Plant-geography upon a physiological basis. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1903. url p. 618.
• Species Blancoanae: a critical revision of the Philippine species of plants described by Blanco and by Llanos /by E.D. Merrill. 1918 Manila: Bureau of Printing, 1918. url p. 245.
• Standardized plant names; a catalogue of approved scientific and common names of plants in American commerce. Salem, Mass., 1923. url p. 497.
• Sturtevant's notes on edible plants / Edited by U.P. Hedrick. Albany: J.B. Lyon, 1919. url p. 602.
• The Gardeners' chronicle: a weekly illustrated journal of horticulture and allied subjects. London: [Gardeners Chronicle], 1874-1955. url p. 761.
• The Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. Bombay: The Society, url p. 1317, p. 465.
• The Journal of the East Africa and Uganda Natural History Society. London; Longmans, Green, [1910]-1942. url p. 122.
• The botanic gardens list of rare and threatened species IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre url p. 21.
• The forest flora of north-west and central India: a handbook of the indigenous trees and shrubs of those countries / Commenced by by J. Lindsay Stewart. Continued and completed by Dietrich Brandis. Prepared at the herbarium of the Royal gardens, Kew. LondonW.H. Allen1874 url p. 100.
• The standard cyclopedia of horticulture; a discussion, for the amateur, and the professional and commercial grower, of the kinds, characteristics and methods of cultivation of the species of plants grown in the regions of the United States a Illustrated with colored plates, four thousand engravings in the text, and ninety-six full-page cuts. New York, Macmillan, 1919 [c1914] url p. 3482.
• Li Chaoluan. 1998. Vitaceae (excluding Leea). In: Li Chaoluan, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 48(2): ii-vii, 1-3, 12-208.
• Li Chaoluan. 1998. Vitaceae (excluding Leea). In: Li Chaoluan, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 48(2): ii-vii, 1-3, 12-208.

Notes

Contributors

• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 10, 2012.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 15, 2007:

• Australian National Herbarium
• , Australian National Herbarium
• Herbarium of the University of Aarhus, The AAU Herbarium Database
• Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri Botanical Garden

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 5830073
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 15901817
• Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:870042-1
• GRIN Nomen Number: 10622
• International Plant Names Index (IPNI) ID: 870042-1
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 606560

Footnotes

1. Prof. Zhiduan Chen, Hui Ren & Jun Wen "Vitaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 12 Page 33, 115, 173. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
2. Hui Ren & Jun Wen "Cissus". in Flora of China Vol. 12 Page 173, 184. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
3. Mean = 408.080 meters (1,338.845 feet), Standard Deviation = 613.280 based on 48 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.