Ampelocissus Planch.

Scientific Description

Family Vitaceae.

Habit and leaf form. Erect shrubs, or lianas (usually), or herbs, or herbaceous climbers; evergreen, or deciduous. Herbs perennial. Climbing (usually), or self supporting; the climbers tendril climbers (tendrils leaf-opposed, simple or bifid). Stem growth conspicuously sympodial, or not conspicuously sympodial. Mesophytic, or xerophytic. Heterophyllous, or not heterophyllous. Leaves alternate; distichous, or spiral; petiolate; non-sheathing; gland-dotted; simple, or compound; when compound ternate, or pinnate, or palmate (sometimes pedate). Leaflets 3–11. Leaf blades when simple dissected, or entire; palmately lobed; palmately veined, or pinnately veined; cross-venulate. Leaves with stipules. Stipules intrapetiolar; caducous. Leaves without a persistent basal meristem.

Reproductive type, pollination. Fertile flowers hermaphrodite (usually). Unisexual flowers absent. Plants hermaphrodite.

Inflorescence and flower features. Flowers aggregated in ‘inflorescences’. Inflorescence many-flowered. Flowers in cymes. The terminal inflorescence unit cymose. Inflorescences leaf-opposed; cymes often arranged in heads or panicles. Flowers pedicellate; bracteate; bracteolate; small; regular; 5 merous; cyclic; tetracyclic. Hypogynous disk present; intrastaminal; annular (adnate to the ovary, 5–10-ridged). Perianth with distinct calyx and corolla; 10; 2 -whorled; isomerous. Calyx 5; 1 -whorled; gamosepalous; entire, or lobed; open in bud; cup-shaped; regular; persistent. Corolla 5; 1 -whorled; polypetalous; valvate; regular. Petals somewhat hooded (at apex). Androecium 5. Androecial members free of the perianth (inserted at the base of the disk); all equal; free of one another; 1 -whorled. Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens. Stamens 5; isomerous with the perianth; alternisepalous. Anthers dehiscing via longitudinal slits; introrse; tetrasporangiate, or bisporangiate. Gynoecium 2 carpelled. The pistil 2 celled. Carpels reduced in number relative to the perianth. Gynoecium syncarpous; eu-syncarpous; superior. Ovary plurilocular; 2 locular. Gynoecium stylate. Styles 1; apical. Stigmas 1 (inconspicuous); dry type; non-papillate; Group II type. Placentation axile. Ovules 2 per locule; ascending; apotropous; collateral; non-arillate; anatropous.

Fruit and seed features. Fruit fleshy; indehiscent; a berry; 2–4 seeded. Seeds compressed boat-shaped; endospermic. Endosperm oily. Cotyledons 2. Embryo straight. Seedling. Germination phanerocotylar.

Physiology, biochemistry. Aluminium accumulation not found.

Geography, cytology, number of species. Native of Australia. Not endemic to Australia. Australian states and territories: Western Australia, Northern Territory, and Queensland. Northern Botanical Province.