Virginia Creeper

With a freshly fallen foot of heavy snow on the ground, I was was drawn to my fall photographs to see some non-white colors and found today's plant of the day, the Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia). This vine is also called woodbine, false grapes, American Ivy & thicket creeper according to the USDA. It's interesting that the berries of the Virginia Creeper are eaten by birds and other animals, but the USDA Plant Guide has a big red warning that they may be fatal if eaten by humans.

Virginia Creeper surviving in an area recently torched to discourage regrowth of buckthorn & honeysuckle.

We have a fair amount of this native vine in our woods, and it seems to make a nice ground cover. I plan to encourage its growth over the huge brush pile at the back of the woods. It seems to be slower growing and a lot easier to keep out of the trees than grape vines. The stems seem to be quite soft and usually snap right off when pulled. They say that it can kill trees though, so I'll try to keep both the Virgina Creeper & grape vines off of anything of value.