''Rhoicissus tomentosa'' (or the Cape grape) is a vigorous, evergreen vine that is indigenous to the afro-montane forests of

southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...

. It is increasingly popular as an ornamental creeper in gardens, and it has a wide range of uses in traditional medicine.

Appearance

A lush, dense, attractive creeper that naturally reaches up to the

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

canopy and covers the tree-tops with its foliage. New velvety shoots grow upwards, reaching out with their

tendril In botany, a tendril is a specialized stem, leaf or petiole with a threadlike shape used by climbing plants for support and attachment, as well as cellular invasion by parasitic plants such as ''Cuscuta''. There are many plants that have tendr ...

s, while old stems or

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 hang like rope from the canopy. The large, simple, roughly circular leaves are deep green above and soft and velvety below. In fact, they resemble the 3-lobed leaves of their Eurasian relative, the Grapevine (''

Vitis vinifera ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, is a species of flowering plant, native to the Mediterranean region, Central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran. There are curre ...

''), with slightly serrated, wavy margins. The leaves start off as maroon or copper-coloured with thick velvety fur (''tomentosa'' = "velvety"), they turn a dark rich green as they mature, and finally before they fall they become crimson.
The creeper produces clumps of furry flower-buds that open into small

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s in summer. These are followed by bunches of dark purple, edible,

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...

-like

berries A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...

. The berries make a good jam.

Distribution

The Cape grape can be found throughout the wetter regions of southern Africa, from the forests on the eastern slopes of

Table Mountain Table Mountain ( naq, Huriǂoaxa, lit= sea-emerging; af, Tafelberg) is a flat-topped mountain forming a prominent landmark overlooking the city of Cape Town in South Africa. It is a significant tourist attraction, with many visitors using the ...

, eastwards throughout the coastal afro-temperate forests of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

(

Cape Provinces The Cape Provinces of South Africa is a biogeographical area used in the World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD). It is part of the WGSRPD region 27 Southern Africa. The area has the code "CPP". It includes the Sout ...

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

Northern Provinces The Northern Provinces of South Africa is a biogeographical area used in the World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD). It is part of the WGSRPD region 27 Southern Africa. The area has the code "TVL". It includes the S ...

) and then on to

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

and

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

Growing ''Rhoicissus tomentosa''

A very attractive and easy-to-grow creeper for gardening. Its even, multi-coloured, evergreen foliage is particularly attractive and ornamental, and it makes a good local alternative to

ivy ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and ...

for African gardens. It can also be grown in the shade (and even indoors) as well as in the open sun. It can be used as a groundcover in shady areas; it can be planted to grow up walls like ivy (although it requires a trellis of some sort for its tendrils to hold onto); it readily climbs up and over a fence to form a screen or hedge; and it can even be used to make wire-basket topiaries.
The Cape Grape can easily be grown from seed, although cuttings can also be rooted.

Pictures

File:Rhoicissus tomentosa capensis creeper - Cape Town 2.JPG, Leaf detail. File:Rhoicissus tomentosa - cape grape creeper - cape town - 4.JPG, Foliage. File:Rhoicissus tomentosa - Cape Grape Creeper - Cape Town.JPG, Large stand growing in the open.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7321267 Vitaceae Vines Flora of the Cape Provinces Flora of KwaZulu-Natal Flora of the Northern Provinces Flora of Zimbabwe Flora of Malawi Creepers of South Africa Afromontane flora Plants used in traditional African medicine