# climbing hempvine (*Mikania scandens*)

Climbing hempvine is a fast-growing plant that loves to climb on other plants and structures. It has heart-shaped leaves and can produce small white flowers, making it a fun plant to spot in gardens and wild areas.

- **Category:** [Plants](https://www.snappit.app/explore/categories/plant)
- **Rarity:** Common
- **Danger:** 1/5 · Very low
- **Snaps:** 4
- **Habitat:** Urban areas

![climbing hempvine](https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Redirect/file/Starr_031108-0005_Mikania_scandens.jpg&width=800)

Photo: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0 · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Starr_031108-0005_Mikania_scandens.jpg)

## Appearance

The climbing hempvine has slender, purplish-green stems that twist and climb, bearing vibrant green leaves often shaped like an arrowhead or triangle. Its tiny, fuzzy white to pale purple flowers bloom in clusters, forming soft, cottony-looking puffs along its extensive vines.

## Taxonomy

- **Kingdom:** Plantae
- **Phylum:** Tracheophyta
- **Class:** Magnoliopsida
- **Order:** Asterales
- **Family:** Asteraceae
- **Genus:** Mikania

## Interesting facts

- It can completely cover other plants like a green blanket, sometimes even entire trees!
- Its scientific name, "Mikania," honors a Czech botanist who studied plants!
- Its seeds have parachute-like hairs, letting them float away on the wind to new spots!
- Some call it "mile-a-minute" vine for its incredibly speedy growth in warm weather!

## Special abilities

- **Twining Power:** Climbing hempvine can rapidly twist its flexible stems around other plants or structures, helping it reach sunlight high above the ground.
- **Green Carpet Creator:** This vine can spread extensively over the ground or water, forming dense, interwoven mats that help it dominate open areas quickly.
- **Nectar Oasis:** Climbing hempvine has small, abundant flowers that provide a vital source of sugary nectar for many insects when other plants are done blooming.

## Measurements & details

- **Height:** 200-600 cm
- **Spread:** 100-300 cm
- **Flower Size:** 0.5-1 cm
- **Bloom Season:** Late summer to fall
- **Edible:** No
- **Toxicity:** None
- **Lifecycle:** Perennial
- **Pollination Method:** Insect

## Ecological connections

- **Pollinates:** Honey bee (*Apis mellifera*) — collects nectar and pollen
- **Pollinates:** [Monarch butterfly](https://www.snappit.app/explore/monarch-butterfly) (*Danaus plexippus*) — sips nectar from its blossoms
- **Shelter:** Mallard (*Anas platyrhynchos*) — uses dense mats for nesting near water

## Traits

- [Flowering](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/flowering): Flowering plants are any plants that produce flowers as part of their reproductive cycle.
- [Shade Tolerant](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/shade-tolerant): Shade tolerant plants are adapted to grow and thrive in areas with low light levels, requiring less direct sunlight.
- [Rapid Growing](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/rapid-growing): Rapid growing plants exhibit accelerated growth rates, quickly increasing in size and biomass within a short period.
- [Urban Friendly](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/urban-friendly): This habitat trait indicates species that can coexist with humans in urban and suburban environments, utilizing man-made structures and green spaces.

## Collections

- [Plants](https://www.snappit.app/explore/collections/plants)

## Safety

**Danger:** 1/5 · Very low

Always wash your hands after touching plants and ask an adult if you're not sure about a plant.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How to identify climbing hempvine?

Start with the whole plant, then compare leaf arrangement, leaf edges, stems and any flowers or fruit. Opposite leaves grow in pairs; alternate leaves come one at a time along the stem. These details tell you far more together than a single green leaf does. Plant Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details.

### How tall is climbing hempvine?

200-600 cm

### How wide does climbing hempvine spread?

100-300 cm

### How big are the flowers on climbing hempvine?

0.5-1 cm

### When does climbing hempvine bloom?

Late summer to fall

### Is climbing hempvine edible?

No

### Is climbing hempvine toxic?

None

### What is climbing hempvine's lifecycle?

Perennial

## Where to spot

- [The Gardens of the American Rose Center](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/the-gardens-of-the-american-rose-center) — Louisiana, US · Botanical Garden
- [Jekyll Island](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/jekyll-island) — Georgia, US · Natural Landmark
- [Mohegan State Forest](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/mohegan-state-forest) — Connecticut, US · Forest
- [Martin Luther King Junior Park](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/martin-luther-king-junior-park) — Virginia, US · Park

[View all places to see climbing hempvine](https://www.snappit.app/guides/where-to-see/climbing-hempvine)

## More Plants

- [white snakeroot](https://www.snappit.app/explore/white-snakeroot) (*Ageratina altissima*)
- [tree-of-heaven](https://www.snappit.app/explore/tree-of-heaven) (*Ailanthus altissima*)
- [western sword fern](https://www.snappit.app/explore/western-sword-fern) (*Polystichum munitum*)
- [common milkweed](https://www.snappit.app/explore/common-milkweed) (*Asclepias syriaca*)

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Source: [Climbing Hempvine: Facts & Places to See — Snappit](https://www.snappit.app/explore/climbing-hempvine)