Cissus hypoglauca
A. Gray
Five-leaf Water Vine
iNaturalist· cc-by
(c) Thomas Mesaglio, some rights reserved (CC BY)
iNaturalist· cc-by
(c) Thomas Mesaglio, some rights reserved (CC BY)
iNaturalist· cc-by
(c) Thomas Mesaglio, some rights reserved (CC BY)
Description
An evergreen vine. It climbs to 4-25 m high and spreads 2 m across. The stem is woody, thick and four angled. It has tendrils. It is a vigorous climber. The young shoots have rusty hairs. The leaves are dark green on top and bluish green underneath. They have 5 oval leaflets arranged like fingers on a hand and on long leaf stalks. The leaflets are 5-8 cm long. They are unequal in shape. The flowers are yellow and in dense heads opposite the leaves. The flowers are about 4 mm across. The fruit are bluish black and juicy. They are round berries 2 cm across. They occur in bunches along the stem. There are 1-4 seeds per fruit and they are 4-7 mm across. The berries are edible.
Edible Uses
The fruit berries are edible and can be eaten fresh, cooked, or made into jam. The water from stems can also be consumed.
Traditional Uses
The fruit are eaten. The skin needs to be avoided. They can be cooked or used for jam.
This uses section is brief — help expand it
Known Hazards
The berry skin should be avoided.
Distribution
A tropical plant. It prefers medium to heavy soils. It suits a protected, shady position. It is frost resistant but drought tender. It needs a temperature above 7°C to grow. It grows in rainforests. It suits hardiness zones 9-11. Arboretum Tasmania.
Where It Grows
Australia*, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Tasmania,
Cultivation
Plants are grown from fresh seeds or cuttings.
Production
The fruit are ripe March to May.
Notes
There are about 200-350 Cissus species. There are about 75 species in tropical America.
Nutrition
| Part | Moisture | kJ | kcal | Protein | Vit A | Vit C | Iron | Zinc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fruit | 83.7 | 243 | 58 | 0.4 | — | — | 3.4 | 0.6 |
Synonyms
Also Known As
Billangai, Five-leaf native grape, Water vine, Wild grape
References (26)
- Bodkin, F., 1991, Encyclopedia Botanica. Cornstalk publishing, p 259
- Brickell, C. (Ed.), 1999, The Royal Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants. Convent Garden Books. p 270
- Caton, J.M. & Hardwick, R. J., 2016, Field Guide to Useful Native Plants from Temperate Australia. Harbour Publishing House. p 228
- Cherikoff V. & Isaacs, J., The Bush Food Handbook. How to gather, grow, process and cook Australian Wild Foods. Ti Tree Press, Australia p 154, 194
- Cooper W & Cooper W T, 1994, Fruits of the Rain Forest. RD Press p 74
Show all 26 references Hide references
- Cribb, A.B. & J.W., 1976, Wild Food in Australia, Fontana. p 64
- Cundall, P., (ed.), 2004, Gardening Australia: flora: the gardener's bible. ABC Books. p 380
- Edible and Useful Native Plants (off internet)
- Elliot, W.R., & Jones, D.L., 1984, Encyclopedia of Australian Plants suitable for cultivation. Vol 3. Lothian. p 39
- Hardwick, R.J., 2000, Nature's Larder. A Field Guide to the Native Food Plants of the NSW South Coast. Homosapien Books. p 94
- Haslam, S., 2004, Noosa's Native Plants. Noosa Integrated Catchment Assn. Inc. p 285
- Hedrick, U.P., 1919, (Ed.), Sturtevant's edible plants of the world. p 683 (? As Vitis hypoglauca)
- Hibbert, M., 2002, The Aussie Plant Finder 2002, Florilegium. p 67
- Hiddins, L., 1999, Explore Wild Australia with the Bush Tucker Man. Penguin Books/ABC Books. p 154
- Jackes, B.R., 2001, Plants of the Tropics. Rainforest to Heath. An Identification Guide. James Cook University. p 3, 86
- Jones, D.L. & Gray, B., 1977, Australian Climbing Plants. Reed. p 89
- Jones D, L, 1986, Ornamental Rainforest Plants in Australia, Reed Books, p 285
- Lord, E.E., & Willis, J. H., 1999, Shrubs and Trees for Australian gardens. Lothian. p 322
- Low, T., 1991, Wild Food Plants of Australia. Australian Nature FieldGuide, Angus & Robertson. p 62
- Melzer, R. & Plumb, J., 2011, Plants of Capricornia. Belgamba, Rockhampton. p 393
- Morley, B.D., & Toelken, H.R., (Eds), 1983, Flowering Plants in Australia. Rigby. p 228
- Nicholson, N & H., 1994, Australian Rainforest Plants 4, Terania Rainforest Publishing. NSW. p 23
- Pearson, S. & A., 1992, Rainforest Plants of Eastern Australia. Kangaroo Press p 62
- Ratcliffe D & P., 1987, Australian Native Plants for Indoors. Little Hills press. p 70
- Townsend, K., 1994, Across the Top. Gardening with Australian Plants in the tropics. Society for Growing Australian Plants, Townsville Branch Inc. p 133
- C. Wilkes, U.S. Expl. Exped., Phan. 15:272. 1854
