Cissus quadrangularis L., Vitaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 12 (Go to the risk assessment).

Other Latin names:  Vitis quadrangularis (L.) Wall. ex Wight

Common name(s): [more details]

English: veldt-grape, winged treebine

Habit:  vine

Description:  "A perennial herbaceous climber. Stem thick, succulent, quadrangular, angles winged, constricted at nodes, glabrous or slightly downy, almost leafless when old. Tendril long, slender, simple. Petiole 6-12 mm long, glabrous. Leaves simple ovate, entire or cordate, serrulate dentate, or crenate-serrate, 3-lobed, terminal lobe triangular or sub-spathulate, subacute or ± cuspidate, membranous, glabrous on both sides, 3-5 x 5-3 cm; stipules ovate or cuneate, obtuse, deciduous. Inflorescence a compound umbelliform cymes, peduncle 1-2.5 cm long. Flower pink and white, 2 mm long, hypanthium cuplike, truncate or obsurely lobed, green, c. 2 mm broad. Petals 4,distinct, ovate-oblong, acute, hooded at apex, c. 1.5 mm long. Disc longer than the ovary. Ovary glabrous, style slender subulate, stigma small. Berry globose, red, succulent, very acidic, 6-10 mm in diameter, 1 seeded. Seed obovoid smooth, 4-8 mm across"  (Flora of Pakistan online).

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i, "hot, dry leeward areas" (Staples & Herbst, 2005).

Propagation:  Seed, spread by birds (Staples, Herbst & Imada, 2000; p. 31)  Stem pieces (Staples & Herbst, 2005).

Native range:  Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and from India to the Philippines (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 155)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Frohlich, Danielle/Lau, Alex (2008) (p. 10) Voucher cited: A. Lau & D. Frohlich 2007042603 (BISH)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
French Territory of Mayotte Mayotte Islands	Mayotte Island	introduced invasive	Comité français de l'Union Internationale pour la Conservation de la Nature en France (2010) Envahissant

Additional information:
Additional online information about Cissus quadrangularis is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Cissus quadrangularis as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Cissus quadrangularis may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Comité français de l'Union Internationale pour la Conservation de la Nature en France. 2010. Les espéces envahissantes en outre-mer (online resource).

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1979. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian dicotyledonae. Micronesica 15:1-295.

Frohlich, Danielle/Lau, Alex. 2008. New plant records from O‘ahu for 2007. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucias G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2007. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 100:3-12.

Nasir, E./Ali, S. I., eds. 1985. Flora of Pakistan. Pakistan Ag. Res. Council, Islamabad. 1970-1985, 170 vols (also on-line edition).

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral/Imada, Clyde T. 2000. Survey of invasive or potentially invasive cultivated plants in Hawai‘i. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers No. 65. 35 pp.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.