''Clematicissus opaca'', called small-leaf grape, pepper vine, small-leaved water vine, yaloone and wappo wappo, is a small

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 ...

endemic to Australia. Pepper vine is naturally found in rocky locales in

monsoon forest Seasonal tropical forest, also known as moist deciduous, semi-evergreen seasonal, tropical mixed or monsoon forest, typically contains a range of tree species: only some of which drop some or all of their leaves during the dry season. This tropic ...

littoral The littoral zone, also called litoral or nearshore, is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely i ...

rainforest and open forest, and is occasionally grown as a garden plant. The plant is primarily restricted to coastal and sub-coastal regions in

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 ...

and New South Wales, although it does occur inland, west of the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills. It runs roughl ...

, in central

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 ...

. ''Clematicissus opaca'' is a relatively small vine, with stems of 6 metres or less. The leaves are

palmate The following terms are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade is divided into two or more leaflets ...

, with the central leaflets larger than the lateral. Leaf shape and size is highly variable, both between plants and on individual plants. Leaves may have as few as three leaflets or as many as seven. Leaflets may be sessile or attached via a

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 ...

. Leaflets may be elliptical, ovate or narrow lanceolate. Leaf margins may be entire or toothed. ''Clematicissus opaca'' was once classified as ''

Cissus ''Cissus'' is a genus of approximately 350 species of lianas (Woody plant, woody vines) in the grape family (Vitaceae). They have a cosmopolitan distribution, though the majority are to be found in the tropics. Decription Extrafloral nectaries ...

opaca'', however a combination of genetic and morphological features led to it being placed within the genus ''Clematicissus''. As with the closely related ''Cissus'', the vines climb by means of tendrils produced opposite each leaf. Minute flowers are produced on inflorescences that arise from branches of these tendrils. Flowers are followed by globular, black fruit, approximately 15 mm in diameter. These fruit are edible, though not especially palatable, and were occasionally used as food by Aborigines. '' Clematicissus opaca'' produces

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 ...

ous roots, from which the plants can resprout following fire or grazing. These roots were used as food by

Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia (co ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q13902306 Flora of Queensland Bushfood Vines Drought-tolerant plants Vitaceae Flora of New South Wales Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller Taxa named by Betsy Rivers Jackes