Herb: Maidenhair Vine


Latin name: Muehlenbeckia complexa


Family: Polygonaceae (Buckwheat Family)



Edible parts of Maidenhair Vine:

Fruit - raw or cooked. Sweet and juicy. Botanically speaking it is actually the swollen flowers that are eaten!.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Deciduous
Climber

Height:
5 m
(16 feet)

Flowering:
August to
September

Habitat of the herb:

Coastal, lowland and lower montane forests, especially marginal, also in open and rocky places in North South and Stewart Islands.

Other uses of Maidenhair Vine:

Very salt and wind hardy, it is an excellent plant for clothing wire netting fences in very exposed positions, making a good windbreak hedge. It responds well to trimming and can be grown as a free-standing shrub or hedge. The plant makes an excellent ground cover when it is grown in a sunny position.

Propagation of the herb:

Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 5 - 8 cm with a heel, July/August in a frame. Pot up in autumn and overwinter in a cold frame. High percentage. Plant out in late spring. Cuttings of mature wood of the current season's growth, 5 - 10cm with a heel, October/November in a cold frame. High percentage.

Cultivation of Maidenhair Vine:

Coastal, lowland and lower montane forests, especially marginal, also in open and rocky places in North South and Stewart Islands.

Medicinal use of the herb:

None known

Known hazards of Muehlenbeckia complexa:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.