Ampelocissus africana (Lour.) Merr.

Species

Angiosperms > Vitales > Vitaceae > Ampelocissus

Characteristics

Climber, trailer or extensive liane 1–6 m. long; branches often reddish, striate, up to 5 mm. diameter, entirely glabrous or pubescent when young; rootstock up to 1.2 m. long, described in one note as rather like cassava, with red bark.. Leaves simple, ovate to ± round, 5–20 cm. long, 5.5–16(–25) cm. wide, acute at the apex, cordate at the base, entire to shallowly to deeply 3–5-lobed, very variably serrate or crenate, the lobes sometimes ± lobed or pinnatifid, glabrous to pubescent or cottony or sometimes quite velvety beneath; petiole 3–13 cm. long; stipules oblong-triangular, 2–3 mm. long, 1.5–2 mm. wide, often expanded laterally.. Inflorescences lax to dense, 5–10 cm. long, the ultimate cymes of flowers subcapitate; peduncle 2–6 cm. long, with tendril at or below the rhachis of the inflorescence; axes cottony or pubescent; pedicels 1–2 mm. long.. Calyx ± broadly cupular, 1.5–2 mm. wide, entire or shallowly lobed, glabrous.. Petals green, pale yellow or reddish brown or in some areas bright red or maroon, oblong-ovate, 1.5 mm. long, glabrous.. Stamens under 1(–1.5) mm. long.. Disk reddish, cupular, about 1/2 length of the glabrous ovary.. Fruits red or reddish blue to purplish black, subglobose, ± 1 cm. in diameter; fruiting pedicels red.. Seeds brown, depressed ellipsoid, 7–9 mm. long, 4–6 mm. wide, 2.5 mm. thick, shining, the groove not well marked but median ovate depression evident, median keel thick, irregularly rugose or outer annular part with 8–10 ridge-like or U-shaped rugae.
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A large climbing herb. It grows 2-8 m high. It has soft stems. These arise from a large fairly soft underground rootstock. The young branches are densely hairy. It has tendrils. The leaves are simple. The leaf blade is 20 cm across. It is broadly oval. There are teeth along the edge. The base is heart shaped. The flowers are in clusters. They are small and greenish-yellow. The fruit is 1 cm across. The fruit are blackish berries. The fruit have large seeds. The seeds are shiny and brown. They are 7 mm long by 4 mm wide.
Leaves simple; petiole up to 13 cm. long, pubescent or glabrous; leaf-lamina up to 20 cm. in diam., from very broadly ovate to circular, entire or shallowly 3–5-lobed, or more rarely deeply lobed, apices of lobes rounded or acute, margins serrate or crenate, base cordate with a rounded sinus c. 2 cm. deep, pubescent above when young or glabrous, varying from tomentellous (when young) to pubescent or glabrous below.
Inflorescence of moderately dense or rather lax cymes; penduncle up to c. 6 cm. long, from subtomentose to glabrescent; tendril arising from the base of the inflorescence-rhachis or below; pedicels less than 1 mm. long.
Climber or liane, or sometimes prostrate; branches densely pubescent when young or entirely glabrous, striate.
Calyx c. 1·5 mm. in diam., ± salver-shaped or cyathiform, glabrous, margin entire or shallowly lobed.
Disk reddish, c. 1/2 the length of the ovary, cupular.
Petals reddish, up to 1·5 mm. long, oblong, glabrous.
Seeds shining brown, c. 7 × 4 mm., ellipsoid.
Stamens c. 1/2 the length of the petals.
Fruit subglobose, c. 1 cm. in diam.
Flowers in subcapitate clusters.
Life form perennial
Growth form
Growth support climber
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality -
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) 0.2
Mature height (meter) 4.0 - 7.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color
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Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

A tropical plant. It grows in savanna in rocky places. It does not grow in humid soils. It grows in woodland and at the edges of forests. It is most common in the lowlands. In Zimbabwe it grows in areas with a rainfall between 500-650 mm per year. It can grow in arid places. It grows in hot, dry climates.
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Seasonally wet grasslands, deciduous thickets, wooded grassland, woodland, riverine forests, old termite mounds and rocky hillsides; also found as a remnant of cleared natural vegetation; at elevations from sea level to 2,200 metres.
Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

Usage

The root is used in sauces and for flavouring. The ripe fruit are eaten as a dessert fruit. It is also eaten raw as a snack. The young leaves are cooked and used as a sauce or side dish.
Uses animal food food medicinal
Edible fruits leaves roots seeds
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Plants can be grown from seeds or by cuttings.
Mode cuttings seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
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Optimum temperature (C°) -
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Distribution

Ampelocissus africana world distribution map, present in Burundi, Benin, Burkina Faso, Botswana, Central African Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Malawi, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan, Senegal, South Sudan, Chad, Tanzania, United Republic of, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe

Conservation status

Ampelocissus africana threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:869577-1
WFO ID wfo-0000531453
COL ID 66DK7
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Vitis hardyi Pareira brava Ampelocissus grantii Vitis asarifolia Vitis grantii Vitis mossambicensis Ampelocissus hardyi Ampelocissus mossambicensis Botria africana Ampelocissus africana Ampelocissus schliebenii Vitis chantinii Ampelocissus asarifolia Ampelocissus chantinii Ampelocissus gourmaensis Ampelocissus volkensii Ampelopsis africana

Lower taxons

Ampelocissus africana var. migeodii