Cissus alata, called grape ivy, grape leaf ivy, oak leaf ivy, or Venezuela treebine, is a species of flowering plant in the family Vitaceae native to the tropical Americas. Under its synonym Cissus rhombifolia, it has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. The species name 'alata' means winged.
Description
Leaf closeup
It is a 3–5 meter high vine with sulcate stems, angled to rarely winged young stems, and translucent trichomes with rusty septa. Long, simple, and hairy trichomes are sometimes mixed with glandular-tipped trichomes. The shoots branch and become woody over time. Young shoots, petioles, and undersides of leaves are covered with brown, delicate hairs.
The toothed leaves are trifoliolate, oak-shaped, dark green, and papery, with simple hairy trichomes. The undersides show nerves often flattened and forming structures similar to domatia, but without a concentration of trichomes. The leaf blades (at least adaxially) have brown to green tones when dry. Terminal leaflets are elliptic or rhombic, (2.3–) 6.8–16.5 cm long and (0.8–) 2–9 cm wide, apex acute to acuminate, base cuneate, petiole 0–20 mm long, lateral leaflets inequilateral, elliptic or ovate, apex acute or obtuse, base oblique-rounded.
Extrafloral nectaries on the stipule have been reported this species.
Inflorescences 2.5–5.3 cm long, with pedicels 1.5–4 mm long, flowers cream, yellow, yellow-green or reddish; calyx cup-shaped, basally with hispidulous, rusty, short and thick trichomes mixed with glandular-tipped trichomes and apically granular, apex truncated; corolla in bud 1.5–2.5 mm long, glabrous to papillate (puberulent), apex rounded. Fruit obovoid, 7–9 mm long, purplish to black; seed 1, obovoid, 6–7 mm long.
Inflorescences
Inflorescences 2.5–5.3 cm long, with pedicels 1.5–4 mm long, flowers cream, yellow, yellow-green or reddish; calyx cup-shaped, basally with hispidulous, rusty, short and thick trichomes mixed with...
