Ampelopsis cordata Michx., heartleaf ampelopsis, raccoon grape. Woody climber (liana), winter–deciduous, with inflorescence tendrils, climbing, trailing, and attaching to surrounding plants or itself; shoots with only cauline leaves, mostly glabrous with soft hairs on very young developing leaves; tendril (inflorescence) opposite leaf base, on vegetative shoots at 2 successive nodes and absent from third node (present on consecutive nodes), becoming an inflorescence by forming flower buds on new forks, vegetative form at maturity to 160 mm long, the first fork above midpoint at all stages of development, terminal axes subequal, not striped, lower tendril ca.0.8 mm diameter, the dominant branch ± 0.9 mm diameter and the other branch ± 0.65 mm diameter with an undeveloped bud at midpoint, bract at first fork appressed and scalelike with prominent, green axis and membranous margins, to 2 mm long, short–ciliate on margins, early–deciduous.
Stems ridged, swollen and smooth at base of each internode with 6 ridges descending to there from leaf, tough, internodes 30—85 mm long, glabrous; young periderm reddish.
Leaves helically alternate, simple, petiolate, with stipules; stipules 2, attached to stem across node, semicircular, 1 × 1 mm, with hairs along raised vein, deciduous; petiole cylindric, 24—75 mm long, glabrous except with hirsute hairs approaching blade, some hairs reddish; blade triangular–ovate, 55—150 × 50—120 mm, truncate to subcordate at base, conspicuously serrate on margins and teeth having conic fleshy point, acuminate at tip, pinnately veined with 3 veins diverging at base with principal veins raised on lower surface, short–hirsute along principal veins, upper surface dull dark green, lower surface paler green, lacking domatia at junctions of midrib with lateral veins.
Inflorescence panicle with cymelike branchlets, = a modified tendril opposite leaf at node, at anthesis to 150 mm long, many–flowered, with bisexual flowers, bracteate, glabrous; bract subtending peduncle appressed, awl–shaped, to 1.5 mm long; peduncle at anthesis to midpoint, axis 2–forked at midpoint and then 2–forked at next midpoint forming flowering lateral branches, branches unequal; bract at each principal fork appressed, deltate to awl–shaped, 1 mm long, short–ciliate to somewhat fringed; cyme branchlet 15—25 mm across with 25+ flowers; ultimate branchlets umbel–like, 3—5–flowered; bractlet subtending pedicel awl–shaped, 0.5 mm long; pedicel ± cylindric, at anthesis 3—3.5 × 0.4—0.5 mm increasing slightly in length in fruit but aging thicker beneath fruit, pale green, glabrous.
Flower bisexual, radial, ± 4 mm across; calyx 5–lobed with shallow, broad lobes to unlobed, whitish; tube appressed to base of flower, broadly cup–shaped, ca. 1 × 0.35 mm, glabrous; lobes sometimes minutely fringed; petals 5, not fused at tips, thick and hoodlike at top, spreading, arching, obtuse trowel–shaped, ca. 2 × 1 mm, extremely thin attached at base and easily dislodged, pale green, margins above midpoint hood cupping anther, glabrous; stamens 5, free, opposite petals in dimple of nectary disc; filaments ascending and straight, 2.5—2.7 mm long, white (pale green in bud), somewhat flattened on inner side, glabrous; anthers dorsifixed, dithecal, 0.6—0.65 mm long, pale yellow, longitudinally and inwardly dehiscent; pollen pale yellow; nectary disc adherent to midpoint of ovary, conspicuously 5–lobed with scalloped margin, swollen and thick having lobes alternate furrows and dimples with stamens and a rim slightly elevated to collect nectar on top of ovary, ca. 1.5 mm diameter, filaments at sinuses, producing copious nectar; pistil 1, 1.6—1.9 mm long; ovary superior but appearing half–inferior covered by adherent nectary disc, exposed portion conic and white, glabrous, 2–chambered, each chamber with 2 ovules; style erect, straight, 0.8—1 mm long; stigma terminal, truncate, yellow.
Fruit berry, 1—2(—3)–seeded, oblate spheroid to spheric or subspheroid, in range 6.5—8 × 7.8—10.3 mm, violet, blue, or blue–green to raspberry red or rose–red, with persistent style at top ca. 1 mm long, often with scattered, raised golden lenticels; pulp juicy, whitish to milky white.
Seed broadly obovoid (1–seeded) to hemi–obovoid (2–seeded) or 3–sided (3–seeded), 4.7—5.6 × 4.3—6 mm, hard, brown (tannish), back rounded often with raised scar, other face or faces flattish.
A. C. Gibson