Ampelopsis


Ampelopsis, commonly known as peppervine or porcelainberry, is a genus of climbing shrubs, in the grape family Vitaceae. The name is derived from the , which means "vine". The genus was named in 1803. It is disjunctly distributed in eastern Asia and eastern North America extending to Mexico. Ampelopsis is primarily found in mountainous regions in temperate zones with some species in montane forests at mid-altitudes in subtropical to tropical regions. Ampelopsis glandulosa is a popular garden plant and an invasive weed.

Species

Plants of [the World Online] currently includes:
  1. Ampelopsis aconitifolia Bunge
  2. Ampelopsis acutidentata W.T.Wang
  3. Ampelopsis bodinieri Rehder
  4. Ampelopsis chondisensis Tulyag.
  5. Ampelopsis cordata Michx. – False grape, raccoon-grape, heart-leaf peppervine or heart-leaf ampelopsis
  6. Ampelopsis delavayana Planch. ex Franch.
  7. Ampelopsis denudata Planch.
  8. Ampelopsis glandulosa Momiy.
  9. Ampelopsis humulifolia Bunge
  10. Ampelopsis japonica Makino – Japanese peppervine
  11. Ampelopsis mollifolia W.T.Wang
  12. Ampelopsis orientalis Planch.
  13. Ampelopsis tadshikistanica Zaprjagaeva
  14. Ampelopsis tomentosa Planch. ex Franch.
  15. Ampelopsis vitifolia Planch.
  16. Ampelopsis wangii I.M.Turner

    Moved to genus ''[Nekemias]''

Ampelopsis species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including Bucculatrix quinquenotella and Sphecodina abbottii. Dihydromyricetin, which is an effective ingredient in supplements and other tonics, is extracted from the ampelopsin tree.

Fossil record

seeds from the early Miocene of Ampelopsis ludwigii and Ampelopsis rotundata, have been found in the Czech part of the Zittau Basin.
The fossil species Ampelopsis malvaeformis was rather common in northern Italy in the early and middle Pliocene but seems to disappear at the middle and late Pliocene boundary.