September 10, 2010

Three creepers


Glowing red leaves of creepers are now to be seen: Parthenocissus are climbing walls and hanging from trees. They are, like the grape-vine, from the family of Vitaceae but their small blue-black raisins are not edible. Basically, they come in three kinds.


The first one is the False Virginia-Creeper (Parthenocissus inserta). If you find a creeper outside a garden, probably it is this one. It garlands, and sometimes overgrows completely, trees. The leaves, now turning into flaming red, are divided into five separate leaves.












The real Virginia-Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) has about the same leaves but grows on walls, mostly cultivated. On this picture, taken when it snowed last winter, you see the small suction-pads it uses to attach itself to a surface.











Those two species have their origins in North-America, the next one, despite its name, comes from Asia.


It is inaptly called Boston Ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata). Not only it is not from Boston, also it is not an ivy. And where its scientific name suggests leaves with three points, they quite often have five or more. On this spring picture you see the young, undivided leaves which still have red rims.