Muehlenbeckia axillaris 

Location & distribution maps

Phylogeny & links to associated information:

Wikipedia links:       Angiosperms  > Eudicots > Asterids >  Caryophyllales > Polygonaceae > Muehlenbeckia  axillaris

Other links:     

Plant  information

Common name:               Creeping Wire Vine

Also, sprawling wire-vine, matted lignum  

Conservation status:   unknown

Etymology:   

Flowers:                  

•  Flowers are inconspicuous, yellowish-white, 4–8 mm in diameter, and borne in groups of up to three in the axils

Fruit:                         

• The fruit is black, shiny, and up to 3.5 mm long, produced in late summer to fall

Leaves:         

•  With glossy squarish to roundish leaves that are less than 1 cm in diameter and 2–4 mm thick

Stem & branches: 

• It has thin, red-brown stems

Roots:         

Habit:        

• A low evergreen shrub, forming wiry mats up to about 1 m in diameter

Habitat:   

• Damp rocky slopes and river flood terraces

Distribution:                  

• Native to New Zealand, and Tasmania, NSW and Victoria

Additional notes:     

• Cultivation

  • The plant is hardy, drought-tolerant, and quick-growing, thriving in a range of light conditions

  • It can be cultivated as a ground cover and grows well in rocky ground, as well as standard potting soil

  • Although it grows fastest in warm seasons, it tolerates freezing weather

• Taxonomy

  • The species was first described by Joseph Dalton Hooker in 1847, who used the name "Polygonum (Muhlenbeckia) axillaris"

  • Both Stephan Endlicher (in 1848) and Wilhelm Gerhard Walpers (in 1849) later referred to it as just Muehlenbeckia axillaris.

  • Synonym: Pseudanthus tasmanicus

Sources of information:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muehlenbeckia_axillaris (2023)