Holly-weird and Vine

July 1, 2009 1:36 PM

What is this ornately-leafed vine we found in our yard? It was growing on the east side of our south-facing house, mostly shaded, slinking across the sidewalk rather than climbing the house. We are in central Indiana.
posted by headspace to home & garden (9 comments total)

I think it is a wild grape vine. I grew up a little south of you and we had them everywhere. But your leaves look just a bit fancier.

From what I remember, they grow and climb with tendrils, so they have to have something to wrap around, unlike ivy.
posted by Tchad at 1:44 PM on July 1 [1 favorite has favorites]

I think my almost-ID of "muscadine vine" is similar to Tchad's (see last image on this page or last two photos on this page).
posted by amtho at 1:48 PM on July 1

Looks a bit like Virginia Creeper to me...
posted by dolface at 1:54 PM on July 1

I have to say wild grape over Virginia Creeper.
posted by Seamus at 2:09 PM on July 1

Def. not Virginia Creeper - VC had compound leaves, this does not have leaflets.

If you look at the leaf of Amtho's example, it is softer and more rounded, but still has the same shape. Muscadine, though, according to the article is more of a Southern vine - it says zones 7-9. I think that central Indiana is zone 5. Southern plants wouldn't fare as well too far north of the Ohio valley (although there are exceptions and micro-climates).

I think what you probably have is more like this. Or this.

The berries are usually green early in the season and small and from what I remember terribly bitter. I can't remember having seen any ripe, though. Usually birds and coons took care of them first.
posted by Tchad at 3:11 PM on July 1

Doesn't look a lot like a virginia creeper to me. If it's not a vine it might well be a clematis, either wild or cultivated - different varieties have very different leaf shapes though, so it's not easy to tell.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 3:11 PM on July 1

Tchad has it: wild grape. I have one just like it (just a bit to the west of you).
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 4:03 PM on July 1

Central Indiana is lousy with Wild Grape — if you go for a walk in the woods around here (Bloomington), you can't miss their distinctive thick, woody vines climbing up the trees.
posted by Johnny Assay at 5:48 PM on July 1

Thank you guys so much! When I first saw it, I thought raspberry vine, but the leaves didn't match!
posted by headspace at 8:25 PM on July 1