Brunnichia

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Ordo: Caryophyllales

Familia: Polygonaceae
Subfamilia: Eriogonoideae
Tribus: Brunnichieae
Genus: Brunnichia
Species: B. ovata
Source(s) of checklist:

Govaerts, R. et al. 2020. Brunnichia in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2020 Nov 29. Reference page.

Name

Brunnichia Banks ex Gaertn. Fruct. Sem. Pl. i. 213. t. 45 (1788)

monotypic taxon

The genus Brunnichia, also known as redvine, Ladies' Eardrops, or buckwheat vine, are perennial woody vines native to the United States.

Redvine is a native species to the US and a favored plant for honey production by beekeepers. [1] In January 2019, the largest honey producer in Arkansas announced they were closing production due to damage to native wildflowers from the herbicide Dicamba, and possibly relocating to Mississippi. Redvine was specifically cited by the owner of Crooked Creek Bee Company as an example of native vegetation being destroyed leading to an inferior product. [2]

Redvine species are a pest when they grow within crops; for example, Brunnichia ovata is a significant problem in soybean crops in the Mississippi Delta.[3] It is an example for thigmotropism. Usually thigmotropism occurs when plants grow around a surface, such as a wall, pot, or trellis. Climbing plants, such as vines, develop tendrils that coil around supporting objects. Touched cells produce auxin and transport it to untouched cells. Some untouched cells will then elongate faster so cell growth bends around the object. Some seedlings also exhibit triple response, caused by pulses of ethylene which cause the stem to thicken and curve to start growing horizontally.
References

url=https://nature.mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/ladies-eardrops
url=https://www.arkansaspublicmedia.org/post/dicamba-concerns-end-beekeepers-retail-operations
Reddy, Krishna N.; Chachalis, Demosthenis (2004). "Redvine (Brunnichia ovata) and Trumpetcreeper (Campsis radicans) Management in Glufosinate- and Glyphosate-Resistant Soybean1". Weed Technology. 18 (4): 1058. doi:10.1614/WT-03-234R1.

References

Banks, J. & Gaertner, J. 1788. De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum: accedunt seminum centuriae quinque priores cum tabulis Aeneis LXXIX. Stutgardiae, Tubingae 1: 213–214, pl. 45, f. 2.
Hassler, M. 2017. Brunnichia. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2017. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2017 Apr. 8. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2015. Brunnichia. Published online. Accessed: Mar. 16 2015.
Tropicos.org 2015. Brunnichia. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2015 Mar. 16.