Description

This introduced vine is semi-woody and up to 18' long, branching occasionally. It is able to climb up walls, fences, and adjacent vegetation by its twining or draping stems. In southeastern United States, where this vine is native, it becomes a fully woody vine with evergreen leaves. The bark of this vine is yellowish brown and shreds into thin strips. In more northern areas of the Midwest and Northeast, the leaves are deciduous and the stems die down to the ground during the winter. Young stems are terete and usually hairless; they are initially light green or reddish green, but later become pale brown. At intervals along the stems, they are pairs of opposite leaves up to 3' long and 2' across. The leaves have a rather thick leathery texture. The upper surfaces of the leaves are yellowish green to dark green, smooth, and glossy, while their lower surfaces are pale green, glaucous, and usually hairless. The leaves are usually oval in shape with smooth margins; their petioles are short or absent. Where the vine branches into two stems, the underlying opposite leaves merge together, becoming perfoliate-connate. This also happens whenever a stem terminates in an inflorescence