Anyone know what flavour of shrub (top picture) this might be? It's about 5 ft tall and 5ft wide and lives happily in a very sunny spot atop a rock outcrop in North Vancouver BC The Vine is huge (bottom picture). it extends over 40 feet across a rock escarpment (it grows up the slope, not down it!). Many many long tapers have been sent out and it has 2-3 main trunks. It was bare until the start of May and then sprouted very suddenly. An ideas? Thx MXB
For the vine ID, a very old Parthenocissus quinquefolia - virginia creeper? See here for photo comparison. Harry
Thx for both replies. Regarding the vine, the picture supplied by harry has leaves with serrated edges. On comparison to the ID photo, this would rule out a positive ID as a Virginia Creeper? Thx! MXB
Only reason I suggested virginia creeper was the serration and venation or the leaves in the picture you presented, the serration occurring on the outer half of the leaf. Most pictures I found of virginia creeper on line show a much darker green in the leaf, so I'm certainly not sure of the Id either. The shine of the upper surface of the leaves and the duller underside makes me doubt that it is virginia creeper. P. quinquefolia is deciduous here and agressive in growth if untended so that would account for the large plant arising seemingly from thin air. If left unpruned it can reach 30-50 feet (9-15m) in a season. The stem would be present though but if cut back to control growth a large spurt of initial growth would be expected from the root system. But the flora from the coast is more varied than here and there certainly could be another vine with the characteristics I noted. Harry
