''Mikania'' is a genus of about 450 species of plants in the tribe

Eupatorieae Eupatorieae is a tribe of over 2000D.J.N.Hind & H.E.Robinson. 2007. Tribe Eupatorieae In: ''The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants'' vol.VIII. (Joachim W.Kadereit & Charles Jeffrey, volume editors. Klaus Kubitzky, general editor). Springer-Ve ...

within the family

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

. The name honors the Czech botanist

Johann Christian Mikan Johann Christian Mikan (born 5 December 1769 in Teplitz, died 28 December 1844 in Prague) was an Austrian-Czech botanist, zoologist and entomologist. He was the son of Joseph Gottfried Mikan. Career Mikan was a professor of natural history at t ...

, 1743–1814. Members of the genus are stem twiners and

liana A liana is a long- stemmed, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the canopy in search of direct sunlight. The word ''liana'' does not refer to a ta ...

s and are common in the neotropical

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

. ''Mikania'' originates from

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. A few species, such as ''

Mikania scandens ''Mikania scandens'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Its common names include climbing hempvine, climbing hempweed, and louse-plaster. It is native to the eastern and central United States, with its distribution extendin ...

'', are found in temperate areas of North and South America, and nine species are known from the Old World tropics. As with other plants in the tribe

, the flowers have

disc floret The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

s and no ray florets. The species ''

Mikania laevigata ''Mikania'' is a genus of about 450 species of plants in the tribe Eupatorieae within the family Asteraceae. The name honors the Czech botanist Johann Christian Mikan, 1743–1814. Members of the genus are stem twiners and lianas and are commo ...

'' and ''

Mikania glomerata ''Mikania'' is a genus of about 450 species of plants in the tribe Eupatorieae within the family Asteraceae. The name honors the Czech botanist Johann Christian Mikan, 1743–1814. Members of the genus are stem twiners and lianas and are common ...

'', also known as

guaco Guaco, huaco, vejuco and bejuco are terms applied to various vine-like Central American, South American, and West Indian climbing plants, reputed to have curative powers. Several species in the genus ''Mikania'' are among those referred to as gua ...

, are popular in herbal medicine. ''

Mikania micrantha ''Mikania micrantha'' is a tropical plant in the family Asteraceae; known as bitter vine, climbing hemp vine, or American rope. It is also sometimes called mile-a-minute vine (a moniker also used for the unrelated '' Persicaria perfoliata''). I ...

'' is a widespread

weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...

in the tropics. It grows very quickly (as fast as 80 mm in 24 hours for a young plant) and covers other plants. People have looked into controlling it with

herbicide Herbicides (, ), also commonly known as weedkillers, are substances used to control undesired plants, also known as weeds.EPA. February 201Pesticides Industry. Sales and Usage 2006 and 2007: Market Estimates. Summary in press releasMain page fo ...

s, parasitic plants, fungi and insects.

Selected species

*''

Mikania andrei ''Mikania andrei'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is found only in Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss. References andrei Andrei, And ...

'' (

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

) *''

Mikania batatifolia ''Mikania'' is a genus of about 450 species of plants in the tribe Eupatorieae within the family Asteraceae. The name honors the Czech botanist Johann Christian Mikan, 1743–1814. Members of the genus are stem twiners and lianas and are commo ...

'' (

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

) *''

Mikania capensis ''Mikania'' is a genus of about 450 species of plants in the tribe Eupatorieae within the family Asteraceae. The name honors the Czech botanist Johann Christian Mikan, 1743–1814. Members of the genus are stem twiners and lianas and are commo ...

'' (

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

) *''

Mikania chimborazensis ''Mikania chimborazensis'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is found only in Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat destruction (al ...

'' (

) *''

Mikania cordifolia ''Mikania'' is a genus of about 450 species of plants in the tribe Eupatorieae within the family Asteraceae. The name honors the Czech botanist Johann Christian Mikan, 1743–1814. Members of the genus are stem twiners and lianas and are commo ...

'' (northern

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

to southeastern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

(

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

)) *''

Mikania cuencana ''Mikania cuencana'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is found only in Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat destruction (also ter ...

'' (

) *'' Mikania harlingii'' (

) *'' Mikania iodotricha'' (

) *'' Mikania iserniana'' (

) *'' Mikania jamesonii'' (

) *''

'' (widespread weed in many tropical areas including southern

) *'' Mikania millei'' (

) *''

Mikania natalensis ''Mikania natalensis'', the Natal mikania, is a plant in the family Asteraceae, and is native to Africa. Description ''Mikania natalensis'' is a herbaceous, vigorous perennial climber. The leaves are opposite and well spaced. The leaf stalk is ...

'' (

) *'' Mikania oreophila'' (

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

) *'' Mikania pulverulenta'' (Ecuador) *'' Mikania seemannii'' (

) *''

'' (

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

, and eastern

as far north as

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

) *'' Mikania stereolepis'' (

) *'' Mikania tafallana'' (

)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2698264 Asteraceae genera Flora of South America Taxa named by Carl Ludwig Willdenow