Muehlenbeckia axillaris

Muehlenbeckia axillaris
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Core eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Polygonaceae
Genus: Muehlenbeckia
Species: M. axillaris
Binomial name
Muehlenbeckia axillaris
(Hook. f.) Walp.

Muehlenbeckia axillaris (creeping wire vine, sprawling wirevine, matted lignum) is a low evergreen shrub, forming wiry mats up to about 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) in diameter, native to New Zealand, and Tasmania, New South Wales and Victoria in Australia.[1] It has thin, red-brown stems, with glossy squarish to roundish leaves that are less than 1 centimetre (0.39 in) in diameter, and 2–4 millimetres (0.079–0.157 in) thick. Flowers are inconspicuous, yellowish-white, 4–8 millimetres (0.16–0.31 in) in diameter, and borne in groups of up to 3 in the axils. Fruit is black, shiny, and up to 3.5 millimetres (0.14 in) long, produced in late summer to fall.

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 is tolerant of freezing weather.

Synonyms

References

  1. "Muehlenbeckia axillaris". PlantNET - New South Wales Flora Online. Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust, Sydney Australia. Retrieved 2009-03-08.
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