Mikania scandens

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Cladus: Campanulids
Ordo: Asterales

Familia: Asteraceae
Subfamilia: Asteroideae
Tribus: Eupatorieae
Subtribus: Mikaniinae
Genus: Mikania
Species: Mikania scandens
Name

Mikania scandens (L.) Willd.
Synonyms

Eupatorium scandens L.
Mikania angulosa Raf
Mikania batataefolia DC.
Mikania menispermea DC.
Mikania pubescens Muhlenb.
Mikania scandens var. pubescens (Nutt.) Torr. & A.Gray
Willoughbya scandens (L.) Kuntze

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Northern America
USA (Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia)
Regional: Mexico
Mexico (Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Puebla, Tamaulipas, Veracruz)

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References

Willd., Species Plantarum. Editio quarta 3(3):1743. 1803

Links

International Plant Names Index. 2018. Mikania scandens. Published online. Accessed: January 08 2018.
The Plant List 2013. Mikania scandens in The Plant List Version 1.1. Published online. Accessed: 2018 January 08.
Tropicos.org 2018. Mikania scandens. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 08 January 2018.
Hassler, M. 2018. Mikania scandens. 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. 2018. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published online. Accessed: 2018 January 08. Reference page.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Mikania scandens in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 07-Oct-06.

Vernacular names
English: climbing hempvine, climbing hempweed, louse-plaster

Mikania scandens is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Its common names include climbing hempvine, climbing hempweed, and louse-plaster.[1] It is native to the eastern and central United States, with its distribution extending into Tamaulipas, Mexico.[1] Reports of its presence in Ontario, Canada are erroneous.[2] It is an introduced and invasive species on many Pacific Islands[3] and in parts of southern Asia.[4]
Contents

1 Description
2 Biology
3 Uses
4 References
5 External links

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 panicles. 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, resinous achene about half a centimeter long, including its pappus of white or purplish bristles.[2][3]
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.[3] The climbing herbage can become weedy and dense, sometimes covering other vegetation.[5] It also has allelopathic effects on other plants.[4]

Its native habitat includes wooded areas and swamps.[3]

This is a host plant for the larvae of the Little Metalmark (Calephelis virginiensis), and the adult consumes the nectar.[6]
Uses

This plant is cultivated as a cover crop and a livestock fodder. It is also grown as an ornamental plant[3] and it is used in butterfly gardens.[6]

It is used in traditional medicine systems of the Indian subcontinent as a treatment for gastric ulcers, wounds, and insect bites and stings.[7]
References

"Mikania scandens". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 21 January 2018.
Mikania scandens. Flora of North America.
Mikania scandens. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER).
Piyasena, K. and H. Dharmaratne. (2013). Allelopathic activity studies of Mikania scandens. Natural Product Research 27(1), 76-79.
Moon, M., et al. (1993). Acclimatization to flooding of the herbaceous vine, Mikania scandens. Functional Ecology 7(5), 610-15.
Mikania scandens. Natives For Your Neighborhood. The Institute for Regional Conservation, Florida.
Dey, P., et al. (2011). Neuropharmacological properties of Mikania scandens (L.) Willd.(Asteraceae). Journal of Advanced Pharmaceutical Technology & Research 2(4), 255-59.