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Ripogonum scandens
Supplejack (kareao) is a native New Zealand evergreen climbing vine that can reach 18 metres in the forest canopy. It grows best in moist, shaded forest conditions and is rarely grown as a garden plant outside its native range.
Ripogonum scandens, commonly known as supplejack and kareao, is a species of climbing forest vine in the family Ripogonaceae. It is endemic to New Zealand. Its range mainly covers the North and South Islands but it also occurs on some offshore islands. Red globe-shaped fruits, which hang from the oppositely arranged leaves, are eaten and dispersed by birds. These fruits are edible, and so are the newly formed shoots at the end of the vines.
The species was first described by Johann Reinhold Forster and Georg Forster in 1776. The genus Ripogonum (alternatively spelled Rhipogonum), was originally considered to be part of the family Smilacaceae or Liliaceae, but in 1985 was reclassified as the sole genus in the family Ripogonaceae. R. scandens was valued by Māori and European settlers, primarily for the stems that were valued for their length, strength, and flexibility.
Ripogonum scandens's fruits are dispersed by fruit-eating animals (frugivores), including numerous bird species. The kererū (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae) and blackbirds (Turdus merula) are two bird species that consume fruits of R. scandens. The fruits are also eaten by the tūī (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae), and are one of the main winter food sources for the North Island kōkako (Callaeas wilsoni). In addition to the fruits, kererū are also known to feed on adult leaves. R. scandens is pollinated by either insects or the wind. MacMillan (1972) noted that some flowers have underdeveloped ovaries, which allows self-pollination.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Ripogonum scandens 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.
