| General Description | Cocculus carolinus is an attractive deciduous vine with beautiful green, almost heart-shaped foliage. It grows quickly and makes a fantastic accent plant in a landscape. They are either male or female. The females produce tiny greenish-white flowers in the summer sun, which will turn into small, eye-catching, bright red berries in the autumn months. It is a deciduous vine, so it will suffer from considerable dieback in the winter months, but can thrive year-round in the right temperature.
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| ID Characteristic | This vine can be easily identified by its berries and seeds. The berries are showy with a beautiful bright red colour, but taste foul. The seeds are small and shaped like crescent moons, a common factor in the moonseed family. Another identifying factor is the shape of the plant’s leaves. They are usually heart shaped or three lobed, and resemble an elephant’s head.
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| Shape | Since this plant is a vine, the shape is determined by what it is growing amongst. They will intertwine and grow up trellises, they can grow up and along buildings, they can wrap around the trunks of trees, and much more. |
| Landscape | This wonderful plant grows quickly up trellises, along fences, intertwined with hedges, and up large plants. It can climb and cover sides of buildings and is sure to add a beautiful pop of colour to any landscape. Carolina moonseed is very attractive as an accent plant in a landscape. The fruits are also known to attract songbirds that like to feed off the plant’s seeds and berries. |
| Propagation | Propagation can be easily done by seed in the springtime or by stem cuttings. If planting by seed, the seeds should be planted after the last expected frost. Carolina moonseed is more often found involuntarily planted in the wild, after the seed has been eaten and excreted by birds and other wildlife. |
| Cultivation | It grows best in full sun with about 6 hours of direct sunlight daily but will also grow nicely in partial shade. The plant likes moist soil and is somewhat drought tolerant. It thrives in acid, neutral and basic alkaline soil. Cocculus carolinus is not very hardy, so it is more than likely to experience a significant amount of dieback in the winter months when planted in colder climates. |
| Pests | Carolina moonseed is not known to suffer from any pests or serious diseases.
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| Habitat | It thrives in moist, well-draining soils in full sun to partial shade. However, this plant is tolerant of a diverse range of soils and growing conditions. In the wild, it is commonly found growing throughout deep woods and thickets.
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| Bark/Stem Description | The vine is semi-woody, with a very slender stem. In the plant’s younger years, the stem is green and slim but as the plant matures it will start to toughen up and turn brown. |
| Leaf Description | The leaves are leathery, shiny, thick, deep green in colour and show visible darker green veins that give them a little bit of texture. They are usually about 7 cm in size however, under the right conditions they will grow to be about 10 cm. The shape of them is predominately heart and ovate but may also be more three lobed. They grow in panicles, with the male plants tending to grow a little longer while the female plants grow in much shorter clusters. The foliage is attached to the vine by long, slim, green petioles.
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| Flower Description | The flowers are small, insignificant, blooming from June until August. They are a very light green or greenish white and grow in small clusters. They do not smell or add anything to the plant’s landscape value. |
| Fruit Description | The fruits are attractive, eye-catching bright red berries that are present from August to November. They grow in tight clusters, and each berry contains a crescent shaped seed, (which is where the name moonseed comes from). The berries are juicy, but they do not taste good and may cause gastric distress when consumed by humans. However, they are considered non toxic. The berries are known to attract songbirds that like to eat the seeds. The plant likely will not produce fruit in its early years. |
| Colour Description | Healthy leaves on the Carolina moonseed are a beautiful, deep green colour. The plant’s berries are red, and the stem is green, but the colour will deepen and turn brown as the plant matures. |
| Texture Description | Cocculus carolinus produces glossy, leathery leaves with visible veins. The underside is quite dull with a slight fuzz.
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