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Tetrastigma voinieranum

Interesting Facts

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Description

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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 Tetrastigma

Climbers , woody, rarely herbaceous, usually polygamo-dioecious . Tendrils unbranched or bifurcate , sometimes palmately branched. Leaves usually palmately 3-5-foliolate or pedately 5-7-foliolate, rarely simple . Inflorescence a polychasium , an umbel, or a compound cyme. Flowers 4-merous. Petals spreading , free , usually hooded or galeate , sometimes corniculate . Stamens short, abortive in female flowers. Disk well developed in male flowers, inconspicuous in female flowers. Style conspicuous or inconspicuous; stigma usually 4-divided, rarely irregularly divided . Berry globose , ellipsoid , or obovoid , 1-4-seeded. Seed elliptic , obovoid-elliptic, or obtriangular, abaxial surface with a linear to orbicular chalazal knot , adaxial surface with a linear raphe; cross-section of endosperm T- or M-shaped.

About 100 species: Asia to Oceania; 44 species (24 endemic) in China.[2]

Taxonomy

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Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 15-Mar-2000

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Tetrastigma

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 1 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

T. voinierianum (Chestnut Vine)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Identifiers

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 "Tetrastigma". in Flora of China Vol. 12 Page 173, 195. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
Last Revised: 7/15/2012