Appearance

Growth form

This evergreen vine can climb 10–30 ft (3–9 m) when a tree, cliff, or wall is available, or spread as ground cover.

Leaves

Young climbing stems have glossy, diamond-shaped or shallowly three-lobed leaves. Mature flowering branches have mostly oval leaves.

Flowers

Mature branches in sun produce rounded clusters of small greenish-yellow flowers in fall, followed by dark berries.

Fruit

Small rounded berries darken as they mature.

Look-alikes

English IvyHedera helix

Both species change leaf shape as they mature, so a single photo may not be enough. Young Japanese Ivy often has diamond-shaped or shallowly three-lobed leaves; young English Ivy commonly has broader 3–5-lobed leaves with pale veins.

Why they get mixed up · Both are evergreen Hedera vines that cling by roots.

Boston IvyParthenocissus tricuspidata

Japanese Ivy is evergreen and clings with aerial rootlets. Boston Ivy turns red and drops its leaves in fall, and it clings with round adhesive pads at the ends of tendrils.

Why they get mixed up · Both can cover walls, and both may be sold under the name Japanese Ivy.

Where it lives

Typical habitats

• garden walls
• shaded ground cover
• houseplant containers

Range

It is native to Korea, Japan, the Ryukyu Islands, and Taiwan. In the United States it is grown as a landscape or houseplant rather than treated as a native species.

Preferred conditions

It grows in shade to part sun in moist, humus-rich, well-drained soil. In North Carolina it is suited to USDA zones 8–9.

Growing it

Propagation

Landscape plants can be propagated from stem cuttings.

Toxicity

The fruit is poisonous if eaten, and handling the sap can irritate skin.

Name and classification

Varieties and forms

Named cultivars include variegated foliage forms. Cuttings from mature adult branches can remain compact and shrubby rather than climbing.

Conservation

IUCN Red List

NENot Evaluated·Not yet assessed