Vines are Plants which have trailing or climbing stems. A trailing stem is one that grows along the ground and is too weak to stand upright and does not have any means of climbing. A climbing stem has some means of ascending Plants or other objects. It may climb by tendrils, in the case of Grapes; by aerial roots, as Poison Ivy; by twining, as the Morning Glory; by adhesive disks, as the Virginia Creeper; or by hooked spines, as the Rattan. Some climbers, such as English Ivy, will grow along the ground like trailers if no support is available. The stems of Vines require requires support in order to climb with the help of tendrils or twining or creeping along the ground, or any structure. Certain Plants always grow as Vines, while a few grow as Vines only part of the time. For instance, Poison Ivy and Bittersweet can grow as low shrubs when support is not available, but will become Vines when support is available. Vines include Plants like Bittersweet, Grapes, Honeysuckles, Ivy, Lianas and Melons.
General Classification \ Types Vines
Vines may be roughly classified by their growth pattern.
Tendrils - Vines which have slender stem-like structure by which they attach themselves to an object for support are known as Tendrils. Tendrils are wiry in structure and occur along the Plant's stem. Initially they reach around in the air until they come into contact with some surface. Upon contact, Tendril curls, forming a coil that allows the Plant to adjust the degree of tension or pull on the support.
There are two kinds of Tendrils:
- Stem Tendrils - These are shoots that grow out of the stem. Some of these include Passionflowers and Grapes.
- Leaf Tendrils - These Tendrils are actually modified leaves that emerge from a leaf node. Some of these include Chilean Glory Flower and Sweet Peas.
Twiners - Vines which have stems which twine or twist to climb over a surface or an object are Known as Twiners. There are loose twining Vines such as Gourds and strong twining Vines like Wisteria which can grow very large and are capable of pulling down porches and garden structures. Some of these Plants include Morning Glory, Jasmine, Dutchman's Pipe, Pole Bean, Honeysuckle and Clematis.
There are two kinds of Twiners:
- Twiners having Twining Leaves - Twiners with twining leaves use their leaves like Tendrils. The young leaves of these Plants are able to twist around slender wires, string, twigs or other leaves. Example Clematis.
- Twiners having Twining Stems - Twiners with twining stems twist around any nearby object like a pole, branch, wire etc. The stems wind clockwise or counter-clockwise, depending on the Species of Plant.
Scramblers - Vines which have long, flexible stems that may look like climbers but they are unable to climb on their own. Scramblers sometimes have thorns that enable them to grip neighbouring stems. Some of these Plants include Bougainvillea, Climbing or Rambling Roses and Cape Leadwort.
Adhesive Pads - Vines which have stem Tendrils with touch-sensitive Adhesive Pads are known as such. Adhesive Pads have small, sticky Tendrils to adhere onto almost any surface. Climbers with Adhesive Pads can attach themselves to the face of a building or the trunk of a Tree. If they are unable to find any vertical support they have a tendency to crawl sideways, attaching themselves to anything. Some of these Plants include Cissus and Boston Ivy.
Clinging Stem Roots - Vines which use clinging stem roots to attach themselves to any object or surface. These climbers actually produce small sticky roots that grow directly out from the stem. These sticky roots will cling to virtually any surface, smooth or porous. Some of these Plants include Euonymus, English ivy (Hedera), and Climbing Hydrangea.
Characteristics \ Features of Vines
- Weak and Narrow Stems - Vines produce relatively narrow stems versus leaf area, less than a Shrub or Tree with the same leaf area. The Stems possess little or no ability to bear any weight. Vine Stems are very flexible to permit bending, twisting, and coiling. The Stems often have patches of soft tissue alternating with the harder tissues, and soft tissue gets crushed when twisted but harder tissue remains functioning.
- Wide Vessels - Vines have exceptionally wide vessels (conduits or capillary-like tubes) to carry large volumes of water up the stem. Vines have some of the widest water-conducting tubes in Plants.
- Mostly Flowering Plants - Most Vines are flowering Plants. These may be divided into woody Vines or Lianas, such as Wisteria, Kiwifruit, and Common Ivy, and herbaceous (non-woody) Vines, such as Morning Glory.
- Herbaceous Plants - Vines are Herbaceous Plants as they lack a permanent woody stem and dies down at the end of the growing season to the soil level.
- Delay In Enlargement of Leaves - Commonly there is a long delay in enlargement of leaves until the stem or cylindrical axis becomes wrapped around a support.
- Versatile Climbers - Some Vines climb by twining their stems around a support (e.g., morning glories, Ipomoea species). Others climb by way of adventitious, clinging roots (e.g., ivy, Hedera species), with Twining Petioles (e.g., Clematis species), or using Tendrils, which can be specialized shoots (Vitaceae), leaves (Bignoniaceae), or even inflorescences (Passiflora). Others climb through the use of thorns, which pierce the support (e.g. climbing rose); or by other hooked structures, such as hooked branches (e.g. Artabotrys hexapetalus). Species of Parthenocissus (Vitaceae) produce twining Tendrils that are modified stems, but which also produce Adhesive Pads at the end that attach themselves quite strongly to the support. The evolution of a climbing habit has been implicated as a key innovation associated with the evolutionary success and diversification of a number of taxonomic groups of Plants. Growth of shoots is often extremely rapid.
- Versatile Plants - Vines are more versatile than most Plants, whether it be growing horizontally as ground-covers or climbing to the heavens. Some Vines are even chlorophyll-lacking parasites, depending on the host Plant for its nutrition as well as support, i.e., Species of Cassytha and dodder (Cuscuta spp.).
Some of the Popular Vines
Kiwi Vine (actinidia kolomikta).
Chocolate Vine (akebia quinata).
Climbing Snapdragon (asarina).
Trumpet Vine (campsis radicans).
Morning Glory (ipomoea tricolor).
Black-Eyed Susan Vine (thunbergia alata).
Canary Creeper, Bird Vine (tropaeolum peregrinum).
Boston Ivy (parthenocissus).
Bougainvillea.
Cypress Vine (ipomoea quamoclit).
Importance and Uses of Vines
- Many Vines are Ornamental Plants. They are used to cover walls, fences, trellises, and arbours, and to conceal unsightly objects. Vine can cover anything in its path with leaves, and often flowers and berries as well. A Vine is also used to grow up the side of a house to give a more natural look to an otherwise plain, boring façade. They are also be used to grow up the post of a mailbox, changing its look from man-made to natural. They are also growing around a chain-link fence to provide a nice cover from wind.
- Vines are also used for providing shade. A simple skeleton of a roof could be installed in a patio or garden, and Vine Plants can be used to grow around the structure and make a beautiful natural cover from sunlight.
- Some Vines are important food Plants for both human and Animals.
- A few of the climbers, such as the Dodder, are parasites that feed on the Plants they cling to. Most climbers, however, attach themselves to other Plants for support only. Even these may kill the supporting Plants by strangling them or blocking out light. They can be used to eliminate Plants which are unwanted or weeds.
