Misunderstood Virginia Creeper

Growing on the brick wall outside my back door is one of my favorite native vines, Virginia Creeper, Parthenocissus quinquefolia.  It is a volunteer that I have allowed to grow freely, except for an occasional pruning to keep it from blocking the gutters.  The thick foliage is a haven for a multitude of insects, frogs and birds.

The leaves turn a bright red color in the fall and make an impressive display.  Few plants can rival the brilliant red displayed by a healthy Virginia Creeper leaf.

The plant does have one problem.  Too many people are under the mistaken impression that Virginia Creeper is actually a mutant form of Poison Ivy or more commonly, they think it is Poison Oak.  It bothers me to see people cut and spray a plant because of a misidentification.  A Virginia Creeper leaf is composed of five leaflets, although by accident or design that number may be reduced.  Poison Ivy and Poison Oak both have three leaflets.  Poison Oak is also a western species, so people in the eastern U.S. don’t have to worry about it.

Even if you were to pull a couple of leaflets off of the Virginia Creeper leaf, the difference between it and the Poison Ivy, shown on the left, is quite distinct.  There are many differences in the shape and design of the leaflets, but the most easily recognized feature is the long stem at the base of the center leaflet of the Poison Ivy.  The bases of the Virginia Creeper leaflets are very short and practically identical in length.

Virginia Creeper is a member of the Grape Family and the blue fruits look much like wild grapes.  Birds are quick to clean up these fruits and drop the seeds over a wide area.

This particular vine was growing in the center of a drainage way, so received some additional moisture through the year.  Many of the Virginia Creeper vines in upland areas failed to produce any fruit because of the ongoing drought conditions.  If people would give this vine a chance, I think they would grow to like it.

Three-Parted Leaves

I walked into a tiny open area dominated by mosses and noticed a small Poison Ivy plant. Beside the Poison Ivy was another three leaved plant and the old saying “Leaves of three, leave it be” jumped to mind. I thought about how sad it would be for people to miss knowing so many plants just because they couldn’t tell Poison Ivy from all the rest of the triple leafers. Within that little twelve foot diameter clearing, I photographed all the various three parted leaves I could find.

Here’s that Poison Ivy, on the left in the picture, with a young Hop Tree, Ptelea trifoliata. Anyone in this clearing who feared leaves of three should be getting nervous by now.

Certainly no one is going to fear the tiny clovers such as this Black Medic, Medicago lupulina. I’m not afraid of it, but since it’s a non-native, I’m not really happy to see it producing so much seed.

The Black Medic flower is fairly easy to recognize. The small blooms appear as tiny spots of yellow hovering near the ground.

The Trailing Bush Clover, Lespedeza procumbens, poses no threat. This plant looks like it tried to stand, but collapsed in exhaustion.

Another sprawling type plant is the Prostrate Tick Trefoil, Desmodium rotundifolium. The leaflets can measure a couple of inches across and always look too large to me. I find it most often I partly shaded areas where you would expect leaves to be larger in order to capture adequate sunlight.

The Large-Bracted Tick Trefoil, Desmodium cuspidatum, is a handsome specimen. Being a plant of the woodlands, it thrives in this partial shade and will be blooming later this summer.

Hog Peanut, Amphicarpaea bracteata, is a viney plant that is much more common at Blue Jay Barrens than is Poison Ivy. A hiker fearing three leaflets would not get very far hiking around here.

So many three parted leaves in such a small area. It would be a shame to miss a treat of Wild Strawberries just because they waved triple leaflets in your direction. It’s not hard to learn to recognize the plants you should avoid. Then you’re free to get to know all the other plants you’ll find in your travels.