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Glossary

Wild Florida Vines

Vines - Page 1 2 3 4

Vines on this page - Rosary pea, Bay bean, Railroad vine, Air potato, Latexplant, Cheese plant

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Rosary pea, Crab's eye

Abrus precatorius

Family - Fabaceae

Habitat - Ruderal, Flatwoods, Hammocks

Description - Introduced, category 1 invasive species. Extremely poisonous, the distinctive red and black seeds of this vine can be fatal if eaten. Climbing, twining or trailing vine with alternate, compound leaves having 5-15 pairs of oval to oblong leaflets with entire margins.

Flower - Pea-like white to reddish flowers in dense clusters at leaf axils. Fruit is a short oblong pod which splits open at maturity to reveal the scarlet and black seeds.

Bay bean, Seaside bean

Canavalia rosea

Family - Fabaceae

Habitat - Coastal strand, Dunes

Description - Native sprawling or climbing herbaceous vine. Leaves are compound with 3 rounded leaflets, 3-4 inches long.

Flower - Purplish to pinkish-rose colored typical pea-like flowers on long, erect spikes, fruit is a flat pod 4 to 6 inches long. Flowers throughout the year.

Railroad Vine, Beach Morning Glory

Ipomoea pes-caprae

Family - Convolvulaceae

Habitat - Coastal strand, Upper beach & dunes

Description - This native vine is common to the dunes of coastal South Florida. A pioneer dune plant, the Railroad vine produces long (75 ft.) runners with deep roots, colonizing and helping to stabilize the upper beach and dune against erosion. Leaves are simple, alternate, elliptical to nearly cordate with lobed bases & notched tips. Salt and drought tolerant.

Flower - Railroad vine flowers in summer and fall, has funnel shaped flowers that are pale lavender to purple with darker throats. Fruit is a rounded, 1/2 inch diameter pod.

Air potato

Dioscorea bulbifera

Family - Dioscoreaceae

Habitat - Margins of forests, particularly in moist areas

Description - Introduced invasive twining vine, fast growing to 60 70 feet, covering and shading out native plants. Long stalked, cordate alternate leaves to 8 inches long with palmately arranged veins. Produces aerial tubers from leaf axils from which new plants develop.

Flower - Usually not present in Florida.

Latexplant, Milkweed vine, Strangler vine

Morrenia odorata

Family - Apocynaceae

Native to S. America this perennial, twining, climbing vine has greenish white flowers and produces large pods that split open at maturity, releasing hundreds of seeds with tiny silken hairs that aid in dispersal by the wind. Leaves are cordate to hastate, new growth and stems are grey-green in color and pubescent. This vine is a pest in orange groves, in fact it was first found in a Florida orange grove in 1957, though how it got there remains a mystery.

Cheese plant, Indian mulberry, Redgal, Mouse's pineapple

Morinda royoc

Family - Rubiaceae

A woody stemmed, native vine with a spreading shrub-like habit of growth. Found in coastal hammocks & coastal strand habit of the peninsula this plant has a high salt and drought tolerance. Grows in full sun to moderate shade, stems reach to about 10 feet.

Common names are derived from its fruit which is a syncarp (like a mulberry) and has a cheesy smell when bruised or broken open. Leaves are 4-5 inches long, dark green and primarily obovate in shape with entire margins. Small white flowers with 6 petals are produced year-round, the Cheese plant is a nectar source for many butterflies.

Vines - Page 1 2 3 4

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