Native Plants
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Saturday - June 20, 2015
From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Plant Identification, Vines
Title: Identity of fleshy three-leaved vine in Central Texas
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
I have a 3 leaved evergreen vine, that I assume is a central Texas native, growing in my yard in a non irrigated mostly shady spot. It has a strong odor when touched and looks and feels like a succulent. I have not been able to find it in any book or online. Any ideas on what it could be? It is definitely not poison ivy or Virginia Creeper.ANSWER:
This sounds like Cissus trifoliata (Grape ivy). Another common name is cowitch vine. It has three-lobed fleshy leaves that emit a strong odor when crushed. It is a member of the Family Vitaceae (Grape Family); however, its berries are not edible. They contain toxic levels of oxalic acid, according to Delena Tull in Edible and Useful Plants of the Southwest: Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. 2013. University of Texas Press.
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