Queen coralbead is a slender climbing vine that is native to Hawaii, where it is called huehue. It also grows across southern and eastern Asia. It bears small blue-black berries in grape-like clusters.
Appearance
- Growth form
- A woody, twining vine. In Japan and Korea it loses its leaves in winter.
- Leaves
- Leaves are alternate and egg- to heart-shaped, about 2.5 in (6 cm) long, and often shallowly three-lobed.
- Flowers
- Male and female flowers grow on separate plants. The flowers are tiny and yellowish-white, so they are easy to miss.
- Fruit
- The round berries are about 1/4 in (6–8 mm) across and ripen from green to blue-black with a light powdery coating. Each holds one flat seed coiled like a snail shell.
Where it lives
- Range
- In the US it is indigenous (naturally occurring) to Hawaii. Elsewhere it ranges from India east to Japan, the Philippines, and Java.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
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