Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Cissus antarctica

Spent flowers and leaves. Australian Plant Image Index, photographer Murray Fagg, Border Ranges National Park, NSW

Fruiting stem. Photographer Don Wood, Bangalee Reserve west of Nowra

Leaves and tendrils. Photographer Jackie Miles

Plant. Australian Plant Image Index, photographer Murray Fagg, Chichester State Forest near Gloucester

Common name

Kangaroo Vine, Water Vine

Family

Vitaceae

Where found

Forest and sheltered places. Coast and ranges.

Notes

Woody climber, stems to about 20 m long. Fruit fleshy. Young stems more or less rusty to grey hairy with 2-branched hairs (needs a hand lens or a macro app on your phone/tablet to see), often becoming hairless with age. Leaves alternating up the stems, 4–14 cm long, 20–50 mm wide, margins toothed to entire, upper surface more or less hairless, lower surface usually rusty-hairy with prominent raised domatia in the vein angles. Tendrils simple or 2-branched. Flowers with 4 white to yellowish green petals each about 2 mm long. Flower clusters congested, 1–3 cm long. Flowering: spring–autumn. Grapes purplish to black, globular, about 15 mm in diameter.

PlantNET description:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Cissus~antarctica (accessed 7 January, 2021)