''Cissus alata'', called grape ivy, grape leaf ivy, oak leaf ivy, or Venezuela treebine, is a species of flowering plant in the family

Vitaceae The Vitaceae are a family of flowering plants, with 14 genera and around 910 known species, including common plants such as Vitis, grapevines (''Vitis'' spp.) and Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Virginia creeper (''Parthenocissus quinquefolia''). Th ...

native to the tropical Americas. Under its synonym ''Cissus rhombifolia'', it has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

. The species name 'alata' means winged.

Description

It is a 3–5 meter high

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 ...

with sulcate stems, angled to rarely winged young stems, and translucent

trichome Trichomes (; ) are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists. They are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae. A covering of any kind of hair on a plant ...

s with rusty septa. Long, simple, and hairy trichomes are sometimes mixed with glandular-tipped trichomes. The shoots branch and become woody over time. Young shoots, petioles, and undersides of leaves are covered with brown, delicate hairs. The toothed leaves are trifoliolate, oak-shaped, dark green, and papery, with simple hairy trichomes. The undersides show nerves often flattened and forming structures similar to

domatia A domatium (plural: domatia, from the Latin "domus", meaning home) is a tiny chamber that houses arthropods, produced by a plant. Ideally domatia differ from galls in that they are produced by the plant rather than being induced by their inhabi ...

, but without a concentration of trichomes. The leaf blades (at least adaxially) have brown to green tones when dry. Terminal leaflets are elliptic or rhombic, (2.3–) 6.8–16.5 cm long and (0.8–) 2–9 cm wide, apex acute to acuminate, base cuneate,

petiole Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, and ...

0–20 mm long, lateral leaflets inequilateral, elliptic or ovate, apex acute or obtuse, base oblique-rounded.

Extrafloral nectaries Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists, ...

on the stipule have been reported this species.

Inflorescences

Inflorescences 2.5–5.3 cm long, with

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

s 1.5–4 mm long, flowers cream, yellow, yellow-green or reddish;

calyx CALYX, Inc. is a non-profit publisher of art and literature by women founded in 1976 based in Corvallis, Oregon. CALYX publishes both '' CALYX, A Journal of Art and Literature by Women'' twice a year and CALYX Books, which publishes one to three ...

cup-shaped, basally with hispidulous, rusty, short and thick trichomes mixed with glandular-tipped trichomes and apically granular, apex truncated; corolla in bud 1.5–2.5 mm long, glabrous to

papillate This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary ...

(puberulent), apex rounded. Fruit obovoid, 7–9 mm long, purplish to black; seed 1, obovoid, 6–7 mm long.

Distribution

It is native to the

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

tropics, in countries such as Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.

Cultivation

Relatively easy to grow, the plant prefers semi-shaded places in subtropical climates, without direct sun. The soil should be kept moist as the plant prefers moisture, although it can tolerate low humidity and heavy shade. It prefers summer temperatures between 15–24 °C, and in winter it tolerates temperatures down to 8 °C.

Fertilization Fertilisation or fertilization (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences), also known as generative fertilisation, syngamy and impregnation, is the fusion of gametes to give ...

should be done moderately, and only in summer. It reproduces easily by top cuttings from adult shoots. As a

houseplant A houseplant, also known as a pot plant, potted plant, or indoor plant, is an ornamental plant cultivated indoors. for aesthetic or practical purposes. These plants are commonly found in House, homes, Office, offices, and various indoor spaces, w ...

, it usually does not bloom or bear fruit, but rather leaves and slightly hanging shoots. The popular cultivar in cultivation is 'Ellen Danica,' which has more strongly indented, larger, and therefore more decorative leaves. It is to be distinguished from the diamond-shaped leaved '' Rhoicissus rhomboidea'' by its

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

-shaped leaves, although the two species names have been misapplied for each other. It is susceptible to pests such as leafspots, mildews,

mealybugs Mealybugs are insects in the family Pseudococcidae, unarmored scale insects found in moist, warm habitats. Of the more than 2,000 described species, many are considered pests as they feed on plant juices of greenhouse plants, house plants and su ...

scales Scale or scales may refer to: Mathematics * Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points * Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original * Scale factor, a number ...

spider mites Spider mites are members of the family Tetranychidae, which includes about 1,200 species. They are part of the subclass Acari (mites). Spider mites generally live on the undersides of leaves of plants, where they may spin protective silk webs, a ...

, mites, and

thrips Thrips (Order (biology) , order Thysanoptera) are minute (mostly long or less), slender insects with fringed wings and unique asymmetrical mouthparts. Entomologists have species description , described approximately 7,700 species. They fly on ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q3500365, from2=Q50828534 alata Flora of Mexico Flora of Central America Flora of western South America Flora of Venezuela Flora of Trinidad and Tobago Flora of Guyana Plants described in 1763 Flora without expected TNC conservation status Plants with extrafloral nectaries