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Ampelopsis glandulosa — Amur peppervine

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Facts

Amur peppervine is also known as porcelain-berry for its almost irridescent pink-purple-azure berries. Widely planted as an ornamental, this fast-growing liana is now considered highly invasive in the forest edges, lake shores, and disturbed habitats in which it rapidly spreads. Its leaves are variable but often highly lobed, unlike those of its congener, A. cordata.

Habitat

Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), forest edges, forests, marshes, shores of rivers or lakes

New England distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

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North America distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

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Characteristics

Habitat
terrestrial
New England state
  • Connecticut
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Rhode Island
Growth form
the plant is a liana (a woody plant with a vine-like growth form)
Leaf type
the leaf blade is simple (lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
Leaves per node
there is one leaf per node along the stem
Leaf blade edges
the edge of the leaf blade has lobes, or it has both teeth and lobes
Leaf duration
the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
armature on plant
the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns
Leaf blade length
60–120 mm
Leaf blade width
30–110 mm
Leaf stalk
the leaves have leaf stalks
Fruit type (general)
the fruit is fleshy
Bark texture
the bark of an adult plant is thin and smooth
Twig winter color
brown
Bud scale number
there are three or more scales on the winter bud, and they overlap like shingles, with one edge covered and the other edge exposed
Show all characteristics
  • Buds or leaf scars

    Bud scale number
    there are three or more scales on the winter bud, and they overlap like shingles, with one edge covered and the other edge exposed
    Bud scar shape (Fraxinus)
    NA
    Collateral buds
    there are no collateral buds on the sides of the branches
    Superposed buds
    there are no superposed buds on the branch
  • Flowers

    Carpels fused
    the carpels are fused to one another
    Enlarged sterile flowers
    there are no enlarged sterile flowers on the plant
    Flower petal color
    yellow or green
    Flower symmetry
    there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)
    Hairs on ovary (Amelanchier)
    NA
    Hypanthium present
    the flower does not have a hypanthium
    Inflorescence type
    the inflorescence is a dichasial cyme (an axis with a terminal flower, below it a pair of branches, each with a terminal flower, these branches may in turn each have a pair of branches and so on)
    Number of pistils
    1
    Ovary position
    the ovary is above the point of petal and/or sepal attachment
    Petal and sepal arrangement
    the flower includes two cycles of petal- or sepal-like structures
    Petal appearance
    the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)
    Petal fusion
    the perianth parts are separate
    Sepal cilia (Ilex)
    NA
    Stamen number
    5
  • Fruits or seeds

    Berry color
    • blue
    • green
    • purple
    • white
    Fruit type (general)
    the fruit is fleshy
    Fruit type (specific)
    the fruit is a berry (fleshy, with the wall enclosing one or more sections, with two or more seeds)
    Nut with spines (Fagaceae)
    NA
    Wings on fruit
    there are no wings on the fruit
  • Glands or sap

    Sap color
    the sap is clear and watery
    Stalked glands on fruit (Rosa)
    NA
  • Growth form

    Growth form
    the plant is a liana (a woody plant with a vine-like growth form)
  • Leaves

    Hairs on upper side of leaf blade
    the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs
    Leaf blade base shape
    The base of the leaf blade is cordate (heart-shaped, with rounded lobes)
    Leaf blade edges
    the edge of the leaf blade has lobes, or it has both teeth and lobes
    Leaf blade edges (Acer)
    NA
    Leaf blade flatness
    the leaf is flat (planar) at the edges
    Leaf blade hairs
    the hairs on the leaf blade are different from the choices given
    Leaf blade length
    60–120 mm
    Leaf blade scales
    there are no scales on the leaf blades
    Leaf blade shape
    the leaf blade is ovate (widest below the middle and broadly tapering at both ends)
    Leaf blade texture
    • the leaf blade is coriaceous (has a firm, leathery texture)
    • the leaf blade is herbaceous (has a leafy texture)
    Leaf blade translucent dots
    there are no translucent dots on the leaf blade
    Leaf blade width
    30–110 mm
    Leaf duration
    the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
    Leaf lobe tips (Quercus)
    NA
    Leaf midrib glands
    the midrib of the leaf blade lacks glands on the upper surface
    Leaf stalk
    the leaves have leaf stalks
    Leaf stalk nectaries
    there are no nectaries on the leaf stalk
    Leaf teeth
    the leaf blade margin is serrate (with forward-pointing) or dentate (with outward-pointing) with medium-sized to coarse teeth
    Leaf teeth hairs (Carya)
    NA
    Leaf type
    the leaf blade is simple (lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
    Leaves per node
    there is one leaf per node along the stem
    Specific leaf type
    the leaves are simple (lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets
  • Place

    Habitat
    terrestrial
    New England state
    • Connecticut
    • Massachusetts
    • New Hampshire
    • Rhode Island
    Specific habitat
    • edges of forests
    • forests
    • man-made or disturbed habitats
    • marshes
    • shores of rivers or lakes
  • Scent

    Plant odor
    the plant does not have much of an odor, or it has an unpleasant or repellant odor
  • Stem, shoot, branch

    Aerial roots
    the plant has no aerial roots
    Bark texture
    the bark of an adult plant is thin and smooth
    Branch brittleness (willows only)
    NA
    Branch cross-section
    the branch is circular in cross-section, or it has five or more sides, so that there are no sharp angles
    First-year cane (Rubus)
    NA
    Lenticels on twigs
    there are clearly lenticels on the twigs
    Twig hairs
    • the twigs have few or no hairs on them
    • the twigs have hairs, but the hairs do not have glands
    Twig papillae (Vaccinium species only)
    NA
    Twig winter color
    brown
    Wings on branch
    the branch does not have wings on it
    armature on plant
    the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns

Wetland status

Not classified

In New England

Distribution

Connecticut
present, invasive
Maine
absent
Massachusetts
present, invasive, prohibited
New Hampshire
present
Rhode Island
present, invasive
Vermont
absent

Conservation status

None

From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key

2.  Ampelopsis glandulosa (Wallich) Momiy. var. brevipedunculata (Maxim.) Momiy. E

Amur peppervine. Ampelopsis brevipedunculata (Maxim.) Trautv.; A. heterophylla (Thunb.) Sieb. & Zucc. var. amurensis Planch.; Ampelopsis heterophylla (Thunb.) Sieb. & Zucc. var. brevipedunculata C.L. Li; Cissus brevipedunculata Maxim.; Vitis brevipedunculata (Maxim.) Dippel. • CT, MA, NH, RI. Roadsides, waste areas, forest fragments, pond shores, upper edge of tidal marshes.

Native to North America?

No

Sometimes confused with

Ampelopsis cordata

Synonyms

  • Ampelopsis brevipedunculata (Maxim.) Trautv.
  • Ampelopsis heterophylla (Thunb.) Sieb. & Zucc. var. amurensis Planch.
  • Ampelopsis heterophylla (Thunb.) Sieb. & Zucc. var. amurensis Planch.
  • Ampelopsis heterophylla (Thunb.) Sieb. & Zucc. var. brevipedunculata C.L. Li
  • Vitis brevipedunculata (Maxim.) Dippel.

Family

Vitaceae

Genus

Ampelopsis