Kingdom Plantae Family Vitaceae Higher classification Vitaceae | Order Vitales Scientific name Ampelopsis Rank Genus | |
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Lower classifications Ampelopsis glandulosa var brevi, Ampelopsis cantoniensis, Ampelopsis arborea | ||
Ampelopsis garden plants
Ampelopsis, commonly known as peppervine or porcelainberry, is a genus of climbing shrubs, in the grape family Vitaceae. The name is derived from the Greek word ampelos, which means "vine". The genus was named in 1803. It is disjunctly distributed in eastern Asia and eastern North America extending to Mexico. Ampelopsis is primarily found in mountainous regions in temperate zones with some species in montane forests at mid-altitudes in subtropical to tropical regions. Ampelopsis glandulosa is a popular garden plant and an invasive weed.
Contents
Species
Ecology
Ampelopsis species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including Bucculatrix quinquenotella.
Fossil record
Fossil seeds from the early Miocene of Ampelopsis ludwigii and Ampelopsis rotundata, have been found in the Czech part of the Zittau Basin. The fossil species Ampelopsis malvaeformis was rather common in northern Italy in the early and middle Pliocene but seems to disappear at the middle and late Pliocene boundary.
