Cissus rotundifolia (Forssk.) Vahl, Vitaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 9 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Arabian wax cissus, Venezuelan treebine

Habit:  vine

Description:  "Vigorous climber; stems often 4-5-angled, pubescent or glabrescent; tendrils 2-fid. Leaves simple or occasionally lobed; petiole pubescent, up to 1 cm. long; leaf-lamina up to 8 x 8 cm., circular to ovate, obtuse at the apex, margin crenate, cordate at the base, pubescent or glabrescent on both sides, thick and fleshy; stipules up to 4 mm. long, ± semicircular, glabrous, caducous. Cymes leaf-opposed and terminal, lax; peduncle 3 cm. long; pedicels 4-5 mm. long lengthening to 10 mm. in fruit, appressed-pubescent. Flower-bud 3.5 x 1.5 mm. Calyx 1 mm. long, entire. Petals green. Ovary glabrous; style 0.5 mm. long. Fruit 1.5 x 1.3 cm., red when ripe. Seeds 1-2 per fruit, 9 mm. long, smooth with single crest" (Flora Zambesiaca)

"Climbers to 30 feet long, glabrous, becoming ± woody; stems succulent, 4- or 5-ridged in age.  Leaves simple; blades nearly circular, 2-3 (-4) inches in diameter, brittle-fleshy, glaucous bluish green, margins nearly entire to scalloped; tendrils forked or not; stipules early deciduous.  Inflorescence clusters longer than leaves.  Flowers tiny, greenish to whitish.  Berry ellipsoid, ca 0.5 inches long, red or purplish"  (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 572).

"Differs from Cissus nodosa Blume in having older stems with four thick, corky wings, circular to ovate, brittle, fleshy, waxy leaves up to 8 x 8 cm with crenate margins, flowers with green petals, and smaller berries ca. 15 x 13 mm"  (Lorence & Flynn, 1997).

Habitat/ecology:  "Ideally suited to the dry, sun-drenched leeward sides of [the Hawaiian] islands" (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 572).

Propagation:  "Fruit-eating birds disperse the seed" (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 573).

Native range:  Africa and the Arabian peninsula (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Parker, James L./Parsons, Bobby (2012) (p. 62) Voucher cited: J. Parker & R. Parsons BIED89 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2005) (p. 573) Locally naturalized.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive	Lorence, David H./Flynn, Tim (1997) (p. 12) Voucher cited: Flynn & Hanna 5810 (PTBG)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2005) (p. 573) Locally naturalized.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Starr, Forest/Martz, Kim/Loope, Lloyd L. (2002) (p. 26) E. Maui. Voucher cited: Starr & Martz 990913-1 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2005) (p. 573) Locally naturalized.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Conant, Patrick (1998) (p. 4) Voucher cited: Herbst & Bookless 9764 (BISH)

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

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

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

References:

Conant, Patrick. 1998. Range extensions for Malastomes in Hawai‘i. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Miller, Scott, E., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1997. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 56:1-2.

Lorence, David H./Flynn, Tim. 1997. New naturalized plant records for Kaua‘i. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Miller, Scott, E., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1996. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 49:9-13.

Parker, James L./Parsons, Bobby. 2012. New plant records from the Big Island for 2009. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2011. Part II: Plants. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 113:55-63.

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. 2005. A tropical garden flora: plants cultivated in the Hawaiian Islands and other tropical places. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 908 pp.

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.

Starr, Forest/Martz, Kim/Loope, Lloyd L. 2002. New plant records from the Hawaiian archipelago. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2000. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 69:16-27.

U. S. Government. 2011. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).