The genus ''Brunnichia'', also known as redvine, ladies' eardrops, or buckwheat vine, are perennial woody

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 ...

s native to the

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 ...

. Redvine is a native species to the US and a favored plant for honey production by beekeepers. In January 2019, the largest honey producer in Arkansas announced they were closing production due to damage to native wildflowers from the herbicide

Dicamba Dicamba (3,6-dichloro-2-methoxybenzoic acid) is a selective systemic herbicide first registered in 1967. Brand names for formulations of this herbicide include Dianat, Banvel, Diablo, Oracle and Vanquish. This chemical compound is a chlorinat ...

, and possibly relocating to Mississippi. Redvine was specifically cited by the owner of Crooked Creek Bee Company as an example of native vegetation being destroyed leading to an inferior product. Redvine species are a pest when they grow within crops; for example, ''Brunnichia ovata'' is a significant problem in

soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean. Soy is a staple crop, the world's most grown legume, and an important animal feed. Soy is a key source o ...

crops in the

Mississippi Delta The Mississippi Delta, also known as the Yazoo–Mississippi Delta, or simply the Delta, is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi (and portions of Arkansas and Louisiana) that lies between the Mississippi and Yazo ...

. It is an example for

thigmotropism In plant biology, thigmotropism is a directional growth movement which occurs as a mechanosensory response to a touch stimulus. Thigmotropism is typically found in twining plants and tendrils, however plant biologists have also found thigmotro ...

. Usually thigmotropism occurs when plants grow around a surface, such as a wall, pot, or trellis. Climbing plants, such as vines, develop

tendril In botany, a tendril is a specialized Plant stem, stem, leaf or Petiole (botany), petiole with a thread-like shape used by climbing plants for support and attachment, as well as cellular invasion by parasitic plants such as ''Cuscuta''. There ar ...

s that coil around supporting objects. Touched cells produce

auxin Auxins (plural of auxin ) are a class of plant hormones (or plant-growth regulators) with some morphogen-like characteristics. Auxins play a cardinal role in coordination of many growth and behavioral processes in plant life cycles and are essent ...

and transport it to untouched cells. Some untouched cells will then elongate faster so cell growth bends around the object. Some seedlings also exhibit triple response, caused by pulses of ethylene which cause the stem to thicken and curve to start growing horizontally.

References

Polygonaceae genera Taxa named by Joseph Banks Taxa named by Joseph Gaertner Polygonaceae {{Polygonaceae-stub