Stats

Lifespan: Perennial
Size: Large
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Temperate forest
Range: North America
Movement: Climbing
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Toxins
Status: Common

About

A fast-growing native vine that blankets walls and fences with palmate five-leaflet leaves, turning a brilliant scarlet in autumn. Unlike the similar poison ivy, Virginia Creeper climbs via adhesive-tipped tendrils rather than aerial rootlets, and always bears exactly five leaflets per leaf.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Vitales
Family: Vitaceae
Genus: Parthenocissus
Species: Parthenocissus quinquefolia