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Rhoicissus rhomboidea
Also called Glossy Grape, Kaffir Rope Wood, Ropewood, Ropewood Grape
Rhoicissus rhomboidea is an evergreen climbing vine from southern African forests, grown for its glossy leaves and rope-like stems. It does well in cool, sheltered spots in summer, with warmth needed in winter since it is frost tender.
Rhoicissus rhomboidea, also known as the glossy forest grape, glossy wild grape, ropewood, bastard forest grape and grape ivy, is an evergreen climbing plant in the family Vitaceae that is native to the eastern forests of southern Africa.
It is used as a garden plant, where it prefers cool, sheltered areas in summer (though winter warmth is necessary as it is frost tender). In the garden, it can be found on trellises, staircases, entrances and in hanging baskets. The plant can be grown from both cuttings and seeds.
The vine attracts birds due to its edible grape-like fruits, which are also consumed by humans. The plant's stems are used to make rope, hence one of the plant's common names 'ropewood'. The plant is seldom affected by pests or diseases, in addition to it being tough and enduring some negligence and living in poor conditions.
The vine is native to South Africa, Eswatini, Swaziland, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. In South Africa it is found in the provinces of the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Limpopo, usually in forest and forest edges. It is well adaptable in tropical and warm temperate or subtropical climate zones.
Veld Grape · Forest Grape · Common Forest Grape · Bastard Forest Grapes
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Rhoicissus rhomboidea 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.
