Menispermum canadense
Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- men-ih-SPER-mum ka-na-DEN-say
- This plant has high severity poison characteristics.
- See below
- Description
-
Menispermum canadense is a dioecious, scrambling, twining (no tendrils), woody vine which will typically grow to 8-20' long when twining its way through the vegetation. Where no support structures are available, it will spread an indefinite length along the ground forming a dense ground cover rising to 12" tall.
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- Tags:
-
-
Attributes:
- Genus:
- Menispermum
- Species:
- canadense
- Family:
- Menispermaceae
- Uses (Ethnobotany):
- Used by many people groups for a variety of medicinal uses, particularly by the Cherokee
- Life Cycle:
- Perennial
- Woody
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- South Central & South East Canada to North East Mexico
- Distribution:
- Forest or natural areas, in moist woods
- Wildlife Value:
- The caterpillars of Plusiodonta compressipalpis (Moonseed Moth) sever the leaves of this vine, feeding on them after they become dry. The larvae of a long-horned beetle, Hyperplatys aspersa, bore through its wood, where they are found underneath the bark. Both the roots and foliage are toxic to mammalian herbivores.
- Climbing Method:
- Twining
-
-
Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Native Plant
- Poisonous
- Vine
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
-
-
Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- Loam (Silt)
- Soil Drainage:
- Moist
- Occasionally Wet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
-
-
Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Black
- Blue
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Fall
- Summer
- Fruit Type:
- Drupe
- Fruit Length:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Width:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Description:
- Mature drupes grow in grape-like clusters and become bluish black with a whitish bloom from July to October. Each fruit contains a single crescent-shaped seed, lending the plant its name. Their flavor is rank and unpleasant.
-
-
Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Green
- White
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Panicle
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Summer
- Flower Size:
- 3-6 inches
- Flower Description:
- Occasionally, panicles of whitish to yellowish green flowers are produced along the non-woody stems. These panicles are up to 5" long and sometimes irregular in shape; they hang downward from the stems of this vine on long stalks. Grows separate male and female flowers. Blooms from May to August.
-
-
Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Leaf Type:
- Simple
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Leaf Shape:
- Obovate
- Leaf Margin:
- Entire
- Lobed
- Undulate
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Description:
- The leaves are alternate, simple, long-stalked, palmately lobed with shallow with rounded lobes.
-
-
Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Description:
- Young stems are green to brownish red and slightly hairy, while older stems become hairless and woody.
-
-
Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Naturalized Area
- Woodland
- Landscape Theme:
- Native Garden
- Attracts:
- Predatory Insects
- Small Mammals
- Songbirds
- Problems:
- Poisonous to Humans
