VINE FAMILY. VITACEÆ.
Reading edition
Virginia Creeper.Ampelopsis quinquefolia.
American Ivy.
Found on rich ground, in woods and wayside thickets, blossoming in July.
This is a high-climbing vine, with tough, woody-fibred stems, covered with a rough reddish-gray bark.
The large leaf is compound, with the 5 leaflets starting from the same point; the leaflet is taper-pointed, notched on the edge, smooth, shining, of a thin texture, and dark green color. The leaves, alternate in growth, are set on foot-stems 2 or 3 inches long.
The flowers are small, and inconspicuous, with their parts in fives and of a yellowish-green color; they grow in irregularly branching clusters from the angles of the leaves.
The round blue-black berries, on thick red stems, ripen in October. The leaves turn a vivid scarlet, which flames out among the autumn colors. The vine climbs by the aid of tendrils which terminate in flat sucker-like discs. It is easily transplanted and often seen around dwellings.
VIRGINIA CREEPER: Ampelopsis quinquefolia.
