How to Identify Virginia Creeper

Take a walk in a wooded area in almost any state east of the Rocky Mountains and you will come upon a tree covered with a large vine. Or, while visiting your alma mater you notice a large plant covering the buildings. But, what is it? Follow these easy steps to determine if you have met Virginia creeper on those hallowed halls.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Analyze the type of plant you are identifying. If the plant requires support and has tendrils helping it to climb on a tree or wall or creep on the ground it is a vine.

2. Inspect the area where the plant is growing. Virginia creeper can easily reach a height of 50 feet or more.

3. Determine how the vine is attached to the tree or structure. Virginia creeper has branched tendrils with tiny adhesive pads that grab onto its means of support. It has an open growth pattern so you will see the structure or tree on which it is growing.

4. Examine the leaves. Virginia creeper has palmate divided leaves that look similar to fingers from a palm. The leaves are elliptical in shape and the leaf is wider near the tip. There may be from 3 to 7 leaflets up to 5 inches long.

5. Consider the time of year you are viewing the plant. In spring, the new leaves of the Virginia creeper are reddish but become green. From June through August there are insignificant greenish flowers followed by a hard blue-black fruit from August through February. In fall, Virginia creeper turns crimson before dropping its leaves.

Tips & Warnings

• Virginia creeper is one of the first plants to change color in the fall.
• The fleshy fruit of the Virginia creeper has a hard, single seed center and is a great favorite of birds, chipmunks and other wildlife.
• Virginia creeper is a native vine and will grow well in U.S. Hardiness Zones 3 to 9.