Virginia creeper is a vine. The word "vine" is about as scientific as was the word "tree". Vine defines a growth form, not a plant type and hence there are many families of plants that contain members with a vine growth form, that is a growth pattern that uses other plants or objects as a means of support.
While vines can be woody or herbaceous, Virginia creeper is an example of a woody vine. It is a member of the grape family and native to eastern North America. Virginia creeper prefers a sunny location and hence is more characteristic of old abandoned fields that are slowly returning to their original community complex than it is characteristic of the Beech-Maple forest.
We planted Virginia creeper in ZooWoods primarily due to its wild-life value. The plant blooms in late summer, is bee pollinated with a blue-black fruit that matures in the fall. A number of bird species feed on the berries of Virginia creeper and several of the Virginia creeper in ZooWoods do have fruit.
Virginia creeper has a compound leaf composed of five leaflets arranged in a circular pattern around the stem. This particular arrangement is referred to as palmate. Compare this use of the word palmate with the description of the Sugar maple leaf and pattern of veination. The leaf ranges from 5-15 cm in size, with individual leaflets that can be from 6-12 cm. Virginia creeper climbs with small, grasping tendrils that have small adhesive disks.
People sometimes confuse Virginia creeper with poison ivy. Both have palmate compound leaves, but Virginia creeper has five leaflets, while poison ivy has only three. Hence the old adage: leaflets three, let it be!
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