Appearance

Growth form

This woody perennial twines over shrubs, trees, and structures and can reach about 40 ft (12 m).

Leaves

Each leaf usually has five oval leaflets arranged like the fingers of a hand.

Flowers

Small, dark purple female flowers and paler male flowers grow in the same cluster. Three rounded outer flower parts look like petals, but are not petals.

Flowering time

In North Carolina, flowers usually appear in mid-spring.

Fruit

Purplish, sausage-shaped fruits ripen in fall and split to expose pale pulp with many black seeds.

Look-alikes

Where it lives

Typical habitats

• woodland edges
• disturbed thickets
• gardens and roadsides

Range

It is native to East Asia and has been introduced in many eastern U.S. states, with scattered records farther west. North Carolina lists it as an invasive plant.

Preferred conditions

It tolerates sun to shade and several soil types, but grows especially quickly in moist, well-drained ground.

Life cycle

Seed dispersal

Birds eat the fruit and can spread the seeds into nearby natural areas.

Growing it

Propagation

The vine spreads by seed and can also root from stem pieces.

Connected species

Seed dispersers

• BirdsAves

  Birds eat the fruits and can carry the seeds beyond gardens.

Conservation

IUCN Red List

NENot Evaluated·Not yet assessed

Threats

Dense growth can cover shrubs and small trees and compete with native vegetation where the vine escapes cultivation.