''Cardiospermum grandiflorum'', commonly known as showy balloonvine, heart pea or heart seed, is a species of climbing plant native to eastern Argentina and Brazil.

Taxonomy

It was described by

Olof Swartz Olof Peter Swartz (21 September 1760 – 19 September 1818) was a Swedish botanist and taxonomist. He is best known for his taxonomic work and studies into pteridophytes, but also studied orchids, mosses and lichens. Biography Olof Swartz a ...

and is in the family

Sapindaceae The Sapindaceae are a family (biology), family of flowering plants in the order Sapindales known as the soapberry family. It contains 138 genera and 1,858 accepted species. Examples include Aesculus, horse chestnut, maples, ackee and lychee. The ...

in his work ''Nova Genera & Species Plantarum seu Prodromus descriptionum Vegetabilium, maximam partem incognitorum quae sub itinere in Indiam Occidentalem annis 1783–87'' (''New genera and plant species, or Preliminary description of plants, mostly unknown, which were collected during a trip to East India in 1783–1787''), written by him on the results of the expedition to the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

Description

The species can grow over long and it has small white flowers. It is a herbaceous, evergreen, fast-growing

liana A liana is a long-Plant stem, stemmed Woody plant, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the Canopy (biology), canopy in search of direct sunlight. T ...

with a tough stem that clings to the support with antennae. Leaves are compound, consisting of leaves with large teeth.

Inflorescence

The flowers are small, slightly fragrant, with creamy white petals. The fruit is a capsule, cracking into three parts when ripe. Seeds are black, hard, with a membranous wing. In warm climates, it reproduces by self seeding, as well as vegetatively, such as by root pieces.

Similar species

''Cardiospermum grandiflorum'' is a large growing, semi-woody perennial, whereas '' Cardiospermum halicacabum'' is smaller in size, less woody and usually an annual. ''C. grandiflorum'' has larger fruit than the more compact fruit of ''C. halicacabum''. A kidney-shaped hilum exists on ''C. halicacabum'' seeds and a round hilum on ''C. grandiflorum'' seeds. Furthermore, the leaves and stems of ''C. grandiflorum'' have small reddish hairs that are lacking in ''C. halicacabum'', which additionally has smaller flowers than those of ''C. grandiflorum''.

Invasive species

Planted as an ornamental, it has been introduced to all continents except Antarctica, and is a dangerous invasive in places. The species has been added to the list of invasive alien species of Union Concern since 2019. This means that the plant cannot be imported or sold anywhere in the European Union. It is also a significant environmental weed in eastern

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and south-eastern

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, where it is listed as a priority environmental weed in four Natural Resource Management Regions.Cardiospermum grandiflorum Sweet
Environmental Weeds of Australia also on the New Zealand NPPA list of banned plants.

Gallery

Cardiospermum grandiflorum kz1.JPG, Leaves and fruit Cardiospermum grandiflorum.jpg, Fruit Balloon Vine (Cardiospermum grandiflorum) flowers (13928211846).jpg, Flowers Cardiospermum grandiflorum plant NC4.jpg, Growing vigorously on a tree CardiospermumGrandiflorum HoomaluhiaBG Cutler 20150111 120136 (19884911843).jpg, Seeds

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15547168 Sapindaceae Ornamental plants Taxa named by Olof Swartz Plants described in 1788