''Mikania scandens'' is a species of flowering plant in 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 ...

. Its common names include climbing hempvine, climbing hempweed, and louse-plaster. It is native to the eastern and central United States, with its distribution extending into

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...

, Mexico. Reports of its presence in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada are erroneous.''Mikania scandens''.
Flora of North America. It is an introduced and

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species adv ...

on many

Pacific Islands Collectively called the Pacific Islands, the islands in the Pacific Ocean are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of ...

''Mikania scandens''.
Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER). and in parts of southern Asia.Piyasena, K. and H. Dharmaratne. (2013)
Allelopathic activity studies of ''Mikania scandens''.
''Natural Product Research'' 27(1), 76-79.

Description

This species is a perennial herb which grows as a branching vine. The leaves are oppositely arranged at swollen nodes on the stem. They have triangular or heart-shaped, sometimes toothed blades up to 15 centimeters long by 11 wide. The flower heads are clustered in

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is ...

s. The flower head is about half a centimeter long and is enclosed in narrow, sometimes purple-tinged phyllaries. The flowers are pinkish, purplish, or white. The fruit is a dark-colored,

resin In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses on n ...

ous achene about half a centimeter long, including its pappus of white or purplish bristles.

Biology

The pappus-tipped seeds are dispersed on the wind or on clothing or fur. The plant also reproduces vegetatively by rooting from the nodes on sections of stem. The climbing herbage can become weedy and dense, sometimes covering other vegetation. It also has allelopathic effects on other plants. Its native habitat includes wooded areas and swamps. This is a host plant for the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. Th ...

e of the

Little Metalmark Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...

(''Calephelis virginiensis''), and the adult consumes the nectar.''Mikania scandens''.
Natives For Your Neighborhood. The Institute for Regional Conservation, Florida.

Uses

This plant is cultivated as a

cover crop In agriculture, cover crops are plants that are planted to cover the soil rather than for the purpose of being harvested. Cover crops manage soil erosion, soil fertility, soil quality, water, weeds, pests, diseases, biodiversity and wildlife i ...

and a

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to anima ...

fodder. It is also grown as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...

and it is used in butterfly gardens. It is used in

traditional medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before th ...

systems of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India ...

as a treatment for gastric ulcers, wounds, and insect bites and stings.Dey, P., et al. (2011)
Neuropharmacological properties of ''Mikania scandens'' (L.) Willd.(Asteraceae).
''Journal of Advanced Pharmaceutical Technology & Research'' 2(4), 255-59.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1774218 scandens