Code
BOGCO
Growth form
Vine
Biological cycle
perennial
Habitat
terrestrial
synonym | Anredera americana J.St.-Hil. |
synonym | Anredera cordifolia subsp. gracilis (Miers) Xifreda & Argimón |
synonym | Boussingaultia baselloides Hook. |
synonym | Boussingaultia cordata Spreng. |
synonym | Boussingaultia cordifolia Ten. |
synonym | Boussingaultia gracilis f. pseudobaselloides Hauman |
synonym | Boussingaultia gracilis f. typica Hauman |
synonym | Boussingaultia gracilis Miers |
synonym | Boussingaultia gracilis var. pseudobaselloides (Hauman) L.H.Bailey |
Afrikaans |
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Anglais / English |
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Chinese |
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Créole Réunion |
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English |
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French |
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Indonesian |
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Other |
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Portuguese |
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Spanish; Castilian |
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Zulu |
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Anredera cordifolia is an evergreen long-lived climber that grows up to 6 m long from fleshy rhizomes. It has shiny green, slightly fleshy, alternate heart-shaped leaves. Its stems are slender, hairless, often reddish. They grow in twining fashion, and become rope-like and greyish-brown as they mature. Wart-like greyish-brown or greenish tubers are produced on older aerial stems and are a key characteristic of the species. Anredera cordifolia produces masses of drooping flower clusters arising from the forks of the upper leaves. The small flowers are star shaped, with persistent fleshy petals, cream in color, but turning dark brown or black with age.
Stemming from the budding tuber. They are simple, alternate, with a long petiole. The blade is orbicular, deeply cordate at the base and acuminate at the apex, completely glabrous, shiny light green and fleshy.
A long-lived, twining or climbing plant, relatively fleshy, growing over taller plants and trees up to 30 m tall.
Fleshy rhizome.
The stems are cylindrical, up to 4 cm in diameter, solid, hairless (glabrous) and grow in a twining fashion. Younger stems are green or reddish in colour and round in cross-section. They become rope-like in appearance and turn greyish-brown in colour as they mature. Distinctive greyish-brown or greenish-coloured warty tubers (1-10 cm long, but usually 2-3 cm long) often form at the joints (nodes) along the older stems. These wart-like tubers are very characteristic.
The leaves are simple, alternate, slightly fleshy, hairless and sometimes glossy. They are borne on leaf stalks, 5-20 mm long and are heart-shaped or broadly ovate, 2-12 cm long, 1.5-10 cm wide; the base is rounded to cordate, the tip is somewhat rounded or tapers to a point. Lateral veins are four to six on each side of the midrib.
Inflorescence arises from the forks of the upper leaves (axillary). It is a panicle usually consisting of three elongated racemes, 6-40 cm long (with peduncle).
Flowers are numerous, star-shaped, small (about 5 mm across), white or cream-colored and fragrant, borne on short stalks, 2-3 mm long. There are five small petal-like segments, five stamens and an ovary topped with a three-branched style and three tiny club-shaped stigmas. The petals (2-3 mm long) are fleshy, persistent and turn dark brown or black in color with age.
This plant does not produce fruit in Africa.
Attributions | dummy |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY_SA |
References |
China: Anredera cordifolia flowers from June to October.
Morocco: Anredera cordifolia flowers from September to November.
Attributions | Wiktrop |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Anredera cordifolia is a vivacious species. It multiplies by rhizomes and by aerial tubers produced in the leaf axils, which fall to the ground. Seed production is exceptional and they are generally non-viable.
Attributions | dummy |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY_SA |
References |
Attributions | dummy |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY_SA |
References |
Anredera cordifolia is a weed of forest gaps and margins, moist woodlands, bushland, riparian zones (banks of watercourses), waste areas, disturbed sites, gardens, parks, plantation crops and roadsides, in wet temperate, subtropical and tropical regions.
China: Anredera cordifolia is an exotic cultivated species.
Mauritius: A. cordifolia is a naturalized species in some areas of the island, at low altitude, climbing the walls or on the rocky cliffs.
Morocco: Anredera cordifolia is an introduced species. It was cultivated on the Antlantic coast and is now naturalized in the north of the country in hedges of Opuntia sp. or Lycium sp.
Reunion: The species is localized only in the West and South of Reunion. It develops mainly at medium altitude, between 400 and 1000 m.
Seychelles: absent.
South Africa: Anredera cordifolia is an exotic species that grows in bushes along rivers.
Thailand: Anredera cordifolia is found near villages and old clearings at high altitude. These are probably individuals that have escaped from cultivation. It is grown as a vegetable.
Attributions | Wiktrop |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY_SA |
References |
Origin
Anredera cordifolia is native to South America.
Worldwide distribution
This species has been introduced into Central and South America, Western Europe (France, Spain, Portugal, Sicily), North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia), Southern Africa, India and South-East Asia. In the Indian Ocean, it is found in Mauritius and Réunion. It is also present in the Pacific in Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, the Society Islands and Hawaii.
Attributions | dummy |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY_SA |
References |
South Africa: Declared weed Category 1: totally prohibited.
Attributions | dummy |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY_SA |
References |
Local harmfulness
Mauritius: A. cordifolia is not present in the cultures.
Reunion: A. cordifolia is essentially a weed of sugarcane, in which its twining vines curl and connect the sugarcane stems, which can collapse and makes harvesting work difficult. It is much rarer in pineapple cultivation set up after sugarcane. This uncommon species (found in less than 4% of the plots) is regularly abundant and easily reach a 50% coverage of the plot, and sometimes over 70%.
Seychelles: absent.
South Africa: Anredera cordifolia is a highly invasive weed, capable of smothering and destroying native vegetation. Climbing stems can cover the canopy, while trailing stems also choke out low vegetation in invaded habitats. This reduces light penetration, eventually killing the plants below and preventing the germination and regeneration of native plants.
Attributions | Wiktrop |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Food: Anredera cordifolia is grown as a vegetable in many countries.
Ornemental: Anredera cordifolia has been spread around the world as an ornamental plant.
Attributions | dummy |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY_SA |
References |
Attributions | |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Herbarium pictures ReCOLNAT: https://explore.recolnat.org/search/botanique/simplequery=Anredera%2520cordifolia
Attributions | |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Root | Root |
Kingdom | Plantae |
Phylum | Tracheophyta |
Class | Magnoliopsida |
Order | Caryophyllales |
Family | Basellaceae |
Genus | Anredera |
Species | Anredera cordifolia (Ten.) Steenis |