The Biome Classification of the Virginia Creeper

Plant Structure and Reproduction

• A perennial vine, the Virginia creeper gets woody with age. Leaves are compound, coarsely toothed and have five leaflets per leaf in a radial pattern. The plant grows vertically by attaching to trees with tendrils that have sticky tips which allow the plant to gain access to increased sunlight as it grows upward. The berries appear blue to black, contain two or three seeds and are around 1/2 cm in diameter. Once they ripen in autumn, the berries fall to the ground in the winter, where they are consumed by birds. The birds eliminate the seeds some distance away from the parent plant, and they germinate during the spring months after a sufficient cold stratification period -- either one or two winter seasons.

Ecological Niche

• The Virginia creeper provides food for a wide and diverse range of animals. Since the plant is generally found high above the snow, birds such as cardinals, chickadees, nuthatches, thrushes, vireos, warblers and woodpeckers eat the berries throughout winter, while mammals ranging in size from mice and chipmunks to cattle and deer browse the vegetation. Its ability to grow dense foliage allows small birds and mammals to use the plant as cover from predators. This vine grows in the diminished light of the forest understory.

Societal Uses

• To prevent and minimize erosion along roadsides, various government agencies use the Virginia creeper and its dense foliage in shaded areas where it establishes quickly and spreads rapidly along the ground in the absence of trees, fences or other vertical structures. The attractive leaf design and climbing habits lend this plant to garden trellises and brick walls. Many part of this plant have been used as herbal remedies and folk medicine to treat various ailments.

Physical Distribution

• The range of the Virginia creeper is extensive, encompassing the forested parts of the eastern half of North America, extending roughly to northern Mexico in the south and parts of southern Canada such as Nova Scotia and Ontario in the north. The plant adapts readily to many acidic soil types, from dry and sandy to mesic and loamy. Its salt-tolerant characteristics allow it to thrive in developed communities where road salt and irrigation have mildly salinized the soil.