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''Antigonon leptopus'' is a species of
perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...
vine A vine is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas, or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselves, for instance, when used in wicker work.Jackson; Benjamin; Da ...
in the buckwheat family commonly known as coral vine or queen's wreath. This clambering vine is characterized by showy, usually pink flowers that can bloom throughout the year and large, heart-shaped leaves. ''A. leptopus'' is native to the Pacific and Atlantic coastal plains of
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
, but also occurs as a roadside weed from Mexico south to
Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...
. It is widely introduced and invasive throughout tropical regions of the world, including in the south and eastern
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, the
West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
,
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
, and the Old World tropics of
Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
and
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
. This species is utilized for its edible
tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure that plants use as storage organs for nutrients, derived from stems or roots. Tubers help plants perennate (survive winter or dry months), provide energy and nutrients, and are a means of asexual reproduc ...
s and seeds, but also for its horticultural properties as an ornamental vine in warmer parts of the world.


Description

''Antigonon leptopus'' is a fast-growing climbing vine that holds on via tendrils, and is able to reach over 7 metres in length. It has cordate (heart-shaped), sometimes triangular leaves 25 to 75 mm long. The flowers are borne in panicles, clustered along the
rachis In biology, a rachis (from the [], "backbone, spine") is a main axis or "shaft". In zoology and microbiology In vertebrates, ''rachis'' can refer to the series of articulated vertebrae, which encase the spinal cord. In this case the ''rachi ...
. Producing pink or white flowers from spring to autumn, it forms underground tubers and large rootstocks. It is a prolific seed producer. The seeds float on water. The fruit and seeds are eaten and spread by a wide range of animals such as pigs, racoons and birds. The tubers will resprout if the plant is cut back or damaged by frost.


Nomenclature

This species has a wide variety of
common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...
s. Some of them include: * Chamorro: ''cadena de amor, flores kádena.'' * English: ''bride's tears,'' c''oral vine, Confederate vine, chain-of-love, hearts on a chain, Mexican creeper, mountain-rose coralvine, queen's wreath, queen's-jewels.'' * Filipino: cadena de amor; * French: ''liane antigone, liane corail, rosa-de-montana.'' * Malay: ''air mata pengantin'', ''bertih'' * Palauan: ''dilngau'' * Pohnpeian: ''rohsenpoak suwed'' * Portuguese: amor agarradinho; *
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
: ''bellísima, colación, confite, confitillo, corallita, corona, coronilla, flor de San Diego, San Miguel, San Miguelito''. * Tongan: '''ufi''


Distribution and habitat


Native

''Antigonon leptopus'' is native to the
Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...
and
Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...
coastal plains of
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
. On the Pacific coast, this species is found in the north from the Sierra de la Giganta in
Baja California Sur Baja California Sur, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur, is a state in Mexico. It is the 31st and last state to be admitted, in 1974. It is also the second least populated Mexican state and the ninth-largest state by ...
, the
Gulf of California The Gulf of California (), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Vermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja California peninsula from ...
islands and northern
Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...
. On the Atlantic Coast, this species is found in the north in
Tamaulipas Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities. It is located in nor ...
. Its range extends south and inland from the Pacific side to
Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...
, becoming more sporadic through
Guerrero Guerrero, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guerrero, is one of the 32 states that compose the administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guerrero, 85 municipalities. The stat ...
and
Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo, is one of the 31 states which, together with Mexico City, compose the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The stat ...
, on the Atlantic side through
Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...
, with both sides of the range converging in central
Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...
. This species occupies a variety of habitats, but prefers sandy soils and is intolerant of shade. In Baja California Sur, this species primarily occurs naturally in washes, arroyos, and on hilly slopes. The vine clambers over cacti and trees, and overwhelms shrubs and rocks. ''A. leptopus'' inhabits a number of different environments on the peninsula, from the islands and desert on the
Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South or the South Coast, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Tex ...
, the Magdalena Plains, the Sierra de la Giganta, the
Sierra de la Laguna The Sierra de la Laguna is a mountain range at the southern end of the Baja California peninsula in Mexico, and is the southernmost range of the Peninsular Ranges System. It is located in La Paz Municipality, Baja California Sur, La Paz Municipa ...
, and the xeric scrubby lowlands of the Cape. It is also present as a native roadside weed and ornamental for fencerows, and can be seen prominently along
Mexican Federal Highway 1 Federal Highway 1 (, Fed. 1) is a toll-free (libre) part of the federal highway corridors () of Mexico, and the highway follows the length of the Baja California Peninsula from Tijuana, Baja California, in the north to Cabo San Lucas, Ba ...
near the Sierra de la Giganta.


Non-native

Outside of its native range, ''Antigonon leptopus'' is a
pantropical A pantropical ("all tropics") distribution is one which covers tropical regions of both the Eastern and Western hemispheres. Examples of species include caecilians, modern sirenians and the plant genera ''Acacia'' and ''Bacopa''. ''Neotropical' ...
invasive particularly notable for destabilizing island ecosystems. It is present on all tropical continents and even on remote islands in the Pacific Ocean.
Phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...
analysis of plants outside of the native range suggest that ''A. leptopus'' was introduced multiple times from different seed sources. Wide cultivation of the plant as an ornamental is usually the source of most introductions, although not all introductions are invasive, and some records of the plant represent persistent cultivated plants and not naturalized ones. The preferred habitats of introduced ''A. leptopus'' includes disturbed areas, forest edges, roadsides, coral cliffs, limestone soils, along banks, and in waste places. It can tolerate full sun and partial shade, as well as poor soils. In the wet season, this species can completely outcompete and smother native vines and understory plants. In the dry season, it can tolerate drought by defoliating, which provides fuel for wildfires. Soil disturbance can spread the tubers, and the seeds can be dispersed easily because they float on water.


Uses

''Antigonon leptopus'' was prepared for consumption by the aboriginal inhabitants of
Baja California Sur Baja California Sur, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur, is a state in Mexico. It is the 31st and last state to be admitted, in 1974. It is also the second least populated Mexican state and the ninth-largest state by ...
in a way reminiscent of preparing
popcorn Popcorn (also called popped corn, popcorns, or pop-corn) is a variety of corn kernel which expands and puffs up when heated. The term also refers to the snack food produced by the expansion. It is one of the oldest snacks, with evidence of p ...
. The seeds were toasted by placing them in a flat basket made of flexible twigs which was torn into strips and woven to make a solid surface. On top of the seeds live coals were placed, and with both hands the basket was shaken so that the coals came up against the seeds, toasting them, but not burning the basket. When the toasting was finished, the burned-out coals were removed. Using this method, a major portion of the seeds burst open, exposing a white meal. Afterwards, the seeds were separated from the husks from which they had emerged by tossing them into the air with the basket, similar to the method used in
winnowing Winnowing is a process by which chaff is separated from grain. It can also be used to remove pests from stored grain. Winnowing usually follows threshing in grain preparation. In its simplest form, it involves throwing the mixture into the ...
wheat in
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
. The seeds were then ground and the resulting meal was eaten. Alternatively, the seeds could be boiled and made into fried cakes.


Invasive species

This plant is listed as a category II invasive exotic by Florida's pest plant council. Invasion of ''Antigonon leptopus'' on the Caribbean island of St. Eustatius significantly increased
arthropod Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated (Metam ...
abundance and caused biotic homogenization. Specifically, uninvaded arthropod communities that were distinctly different in
species composition Relative species abundance is a component of biodiversity and is a measure of how common or rare a species is relative to other species in a defined location or community.Hubbell, S. P. 2001. ''The unified neutral theory of biodiversity and biogeog ...
between developed and natural sites became undistinguishable after ''A. leptopus'' invasion. Moreover, functional variables were significantly affected by species invasion. Invaded communities had higher community-weighted mean body size and the feeding guild composition of invaded arthropod communities was characterized by the exceptional numbers of nectarivores, herbivores, and detritivores. Taxa indicated as omnivorous (e.g., ants) that seem intrinsically generalistic appear to primarily suffer from ''A. leptopus'' invasion and may be particularly sensitive to the habitat structural effects of ''A. leptopus''. Increased coverage of ''A. leptopus'' leads to a significant decrease in the abundance of predatory lizards of the genus '' Anolis''.


References


External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q311521 Polygonaceae Plants described in 1838 Flora of Baja California Sur Flora of Chihuahua (state) Flora of Guerrero Flora of Jalisco Flora of Michoacán Flora of Oaxaca Flora of Sinaloa Flora of Sonora Pantropical flora