Stats

Lifespan

Perennial

Size

Large

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Tropical rainforest

Range

Central and South America

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Seeds

Defense

Toxins

Status

Uncommon

About

This tropical vine thrives in humid forests by rapidly scaling trees for light. It grows up to twenty-four centimeters in a single day to smother its competition.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Magnoliopsida

Order

Asterales

Family

Asteraceae

Genus

Mikania

Species

Mikania micrantha