PARTHENOCISSUS quinquefolia

Virginia creeper is a fast-growing, high-climbing vine that attaches itself with tendrils which expand, disk-like, on their tips. The deciduous leaves are palmately compound with (typically) five leaflets radiating outward from a central petiole (leaf stem) like spokes on a wheel. Each leaflet is about 3"-7" long and an inch or two wide. The leaves turn fiery red in fall and are very showy. The individual flowers are tiny and inconspicuous, and arranged in elaborate long-stemmed clusters, with each flower at the tip of its own peduncle (flower stem); such an inflorescence is called a cyme. The whole inflorescence is about 4"-6" across. The berries are blue-black, less than a half-inch across and much relished by birds.