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Cissus alata
Also called Venezuela Treebine, Venezuela Treebind
Grape ivy (Cissus alata) is a fast-growing tropical climbing vine with dark green, oak-shaped leaves, widely grown as a houseplant. It does best in bright, indirect or semi-shaded spots and moist soil.
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.
Relatively easy to grow, the plant prefers semi-shaded places in subtropical climates, without direct sun. The soil should be kept moist as the plant prefers moisture, although it can tolerate low humidity and heavy shade. It prefers summer temperatures between 15–24 °C, and in winter it tolerates temperatures down to 8 °C. Fertilization should be done moderately, and only in summer. It reproduces easily by top cuttings from adult shoots. As a houseplant, it usually does not bloom or bear fruit, but rather leaves and slightly hanging shoots.
The popular cultivar in cultivation is 'Ellen Danica,' which has more strongly indented, larger, and therefore more decorative leaves. It is to be distinguished from the diamond-shaped leaved Rhoicissus rhomboidea by its oak-shaped leaves, although the two species names have been misapplied for each other.
It is native to the New World tropics, in countries such as Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.
Rex Begonia Vine · Veldt-grape · Seasonvine · Treebine · Treebine
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Cissus alata by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
