Online Virtual Flora of Wisconsin - Menispermum canadense

Menispermum canadense L.

Family: Menispermaceae

Canadian moonseed, common moonseed

Kitty Kohout

Michael Clayton

University of Wisconsin - Madison (WIS-VP)

Open Interactive Map

Etymology: Menispermum: Greek menis for "moon" and spermum for "seed"
Plants: perennial, 6'-10' tall, twining, woody vine
Leaves: alternate, on thin stalks, broadly oval with 3 shallow lobes
Flowers: white, tiny, 6-9-parted, sepals longer than the petals; inflorescence a branched, dense, cluster; blooms June-July
Fruits: blue/black, rounded, fleshy, 1/4" berry
Habitat: moist; woods, thickets
Hazardous: Careful, this plant is hazardous!
Conservation Status: Native

Lowland hardwood forests along rivers and creeks, hardwood swamps, semi-shaded banks of rivers and streams, southern mesic to dry-mesic forests (especially along edges), less often oak-hickory and pine-oak woods, also rocky, wooded slopes and talus at bases of bluffs and cliffs (sandstone or limestone), brushy or wooded causeways, levees, and banks, weedy groves, thickets, and fencerows; a pioneer species, preferring places where there has been some history of disturbance. A dioecious, perennial vine that climbs over adjacent shrubs, lower branches of small trees, and fences. The leaves have a distinctive, albeit variable, shape and are peltate (the petiole attaches to the underside of the blade several millimeters in from the margin near the base). The mature drupes, bluish- black and glaucous, are borne in clusters and resemble grapes, but they are thought to be poisonous and should not be eaten. The individual stones are somewhat flattened and broadly crescent-shaped, conferring upon the plant its common name.