Flora of North America species comparison

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Menispermum canadense

Canada moonseed, Canadian moonseed, common moonseed, moonseed, ménisperme du Canada, raison de couleuvre, yellow parilla
Leaves

blade ovate or nearly orbiculate, rarely reniform, to 23 × 24 cm, membranous;

venation 7-12.
Inflorescences

to 18 cm;

rachis glabrous or sparsely pilose.
Flowers

sepals (4-)5-8, ovate, elliptic, or obovate, 1-4 × 0.4-1.8 mm, glabrous or sparsely pilose;

petals 4-12, elliptic to nearly orbiculate or obovate, 0.6-2 × 0.6-2 mm, margins slightly involute, glabrous.
Staminate flowers

stamens to 4 mm.
Pistillate flowers

staminodes to 0.8(-1.5) mm;

pistils 2-4, to 1.4 mm.
Drupes

black or bluish black, 8-13 mm diam., often glaucous.
Vines

or lianas, vines twining, to ca. 5 m;

rhizomes to 1 cm diam.
2n

= 52.

Menispermum canadense
Phenology Flowering spring–summer.
Habitat Deciduous woods and thickets, along streams, bluffs and rocky hillsides, fencerows, shade tolerant
Elevation 0-700 m (0-2300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; MA; MD; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; WV; MB; ON; QC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

The fruit of Menispermum canadense is thought to be poisonous. This species is sometimes grown as an ornamental.

Some Native American tribes used Menispermum canadense medicinally as dermatological, gastrointestinal, gynecological, and venereal aids, and as remedies for various other complaints (D. E. Moerman 1986).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Menispermaceae > Menispermum
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 340. (1753)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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