Good Food and Fair Cover
Virginia Creeper, Woodbine- Parthenocissus quinquefolia
Wild Raisin (Appalachian Tea) – Viburnum cassinoides
Form
High climbing or trailing woody vine, sometimes climbing to crowns of tall trees, 30 to 55 feet or more.
Bark
Older vines produce tendrils along stem to grip supports. Can be mistaken for poison ivy.
Leaves
Deciduous, alternate, compound, 5-leaflets, leaflets 2 to 6 inches long, oval to elliptical or lanceolate, coarsely toothed above middle. Purple to crimson in autumn.
Flowers
June-July. Terminal clusters or from upper leaf axils, 25 to 200 flowers per cluster, greenish-individual flowers 1/8 inch across. Not showy.
Fruits
Blue or black globose berry. Ripens in October, stays on vine into winter. Fruit stalks are red.
WV Range
Common in all counties.
Natural Habitat
Moist woods, thickets, fencerows, walls, hillsides and rocky banks.
Wildlife Use
Fruits, are very important as fall and winter food for songbirds, numerous other birds, including all game species. Also eaten by mice, chipmunks and skunks. Foliage and twigs browsed by white-tailed deer.
Horticulture
Uses: Trellis, wall cover, screens for porches, cover for fences and rock piles. Brilliant fall color.
Light: Partial to full sun.
Soil Moisture: Moist to dry.
Soil pH: Acid to neutral.
Problems: None. Very hardy plant.
Compiled by: Katharine B. Gregg, professor of biology, West Virginia Wesleyan College , Buckhannon , West Virginia . Written by West Virginia Native Plant Society members and jointly published with the WV Wildlife Diversity Program.