Cissus

Cissus is a genus of 279 species of lianas in the grape family. Species are native to the tropical and subtropical Americas, sub-Saharan Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, tropical Asia, Papuasia, and Australia.

Description

on the stipule have been reported for C. microcarpa, C. psudosicyoids, and C. rhombifolia.

Uses

Medicinal

Cissus quadrangularis has been evaluated for potential medical uses. As a source of carotenoids, triterpenoids and ascorbic acid, the extracts may have potential for medical effects, including "gastroprotective activity" and benefits in terms of "lipid metabolism and oxidative stress". Cissus quinquangularis was used by the Maasai people of Kenya to relieve some of the symptoms of malaria.

Ornamental

Cissus alata and Cissus incisa are cultivated as garden plants in some areas of the world. Succulent members of the genus such as Cissus quadrangularis are also found in the nursery trade but tend to be frost tender and are thus not widely cultivated. Cissus alata is also cultivated as a houseplant, and C. discolor is often seen in greenhouses.

Ecology

Cissus species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Hypercompe eridanus and Hypercompe icasia. They are also consumed by chimpanzees.

Taxonomy

The generic name is derived from the Greek word κισσος, meaning "ivy". In the 1980s the genus was split according to some details of the flower. The large caudiciform species were moved to the new genus Cyphostemma. In 2023 several Australasian and South American species were placed in the new genus Apocissus.
The genus name was established by Carl Linnaeus who used species epithets that are adjectives with feminine grammatical gender in Latin. This matches the pattern that names of trees ending in -us in Latin have feminine gender, although other plant names ending in -us are usually masculine.

Species

Plants of the World Online currently includes:

Cissus acreensis Lombardi
Cissus adamii Detoit
Cissus adeyana Masinde & L.E.Newton
Cissus adnata Roxb.
Cissus alata Jacq. - grape ivy
Cissus albida Cambess.
Cissus albiporcata Masinde & L.E.Newton
Cissus amapaensis Lombardi
Cissus ambongensis Desc.
Cissus amoena Gilg & M.Brandt
Cissus amplexicaulis Trias-Blasi & J.Parn.
Cissus anemonifolia Zipp. ex Miq.
Cissus angustata Ridl.
Cissus anisophylla Lombardi
Cissus annamica Gagnep.
Cissus antandroy Desc.
Cissus anulata Desc.
Cissus apendiculata Lombardi
Cissus aphylla Chiov.
Cissus aphyllantha Gilg
Cissus araguainensis Lombardi
Cissus aralioides Planch.
Cissus arguta Hook.f.
Cissus aristata Blume
Cissus aristolochiifolia Planch.
Cissus aristolochioides Planch.
Cissus arnottiana B.V.Shetty & Par.Singh
Cissus assamica Craib
Cissus astrotricha Gagnep.
Cissus aubertiana P.Singh & B.V.Shetty
Cissus auricoma Desc.
Cissus austroyunnanensis Y.H.Li & Y.Zhang
Cissus bachmaensis Gagnep.
Cissus bahiensis Lombardi
Cissus barbeyana De Wild. & T.Durand
Cissus barteri Planch.
Cissus bathyrhakodes Werderm.
Cissus bauerlenii Planch.
Cissus bequaertii Detoit
Cissus biformifolia Standl.
Cissus blanchetiana Planch.
Cissus boivinii Planch.
Cissus bosseri Desc.
Cissus bracteosa Lombardi
Cissus brevipes C.V.Morton & Standl.
Cissus cactiformis Gilg
Cissus cacuminis Standl.
Cissus caesia Afzel.
Cissus calcicola Craib
Cissus camiriensis Lombardi
Cissus campestris Planch.
Cissus carrissoi Exell & Mendonça
Cissus cerasiformis Planch.
Cissus coccinea Mart. ex Planch.
Cissus cochinchinensis Spreng.
Cissus colombiensis Lombardi
Cissus comosa Desc.
Cissus compressiflora Lombardi
Cissus conchigera Ridl.
Cissus convolvulacea Planch.
Cissus cornifolia Planch.
Cissus corylifolia Planch.
Cissus coursii Desc.
Cissus craibii Gagnep.
Cissus crusei Wild & R.B.Drumm.
Cissus cucumerifolia Planch.
Cissus cucurbitina Standl.
Cissus cuspidata Planch.
Cissus cussonioides Schinz
Cissus darik Miq.
Cissus dasyantha Gilg & M.Brandt
Cissus dealbata Bedd.
Cissus decaryi Wahlert & Phillipson
Cissus decidua Lombardi
Cissus descoingsii Lombardi
Cissus dewevrei De Wild. & T.Durand
Cissus dichotoma Blume
Cissus diffusiflora Planch.
Cissus dinklagei Gilg & M.Brandt
Cissus discolor Blume
Cissus diversilobata C.A.Sm.
Cissus doeringii Gilg & M.Brandt
Cissus duarteana Cambess.
Cissus duboisii Dewit
Cissus egestosa Werderm.
Cissus ellenbeckii Gilg & M.Brandt
Cissus elmeri
Cissus elongata Roxb.
Cissus erecta S.H.Cho & Y.D.Kim
Cissus erosa Rich. - caro de tres hojas
Cissus evrardii Gagnep.
Cissus fanshawei Wild & R.B.Drumm.
Cissus farinosa Planch.
Cissus faucicola Wild & R.B.Drumm.
Cissus flavifolia Lombardi
Cissus floribunda Planch.
Cissus forsteniana Planch.
Cissus fragilis E.Mey. ex Harv.
Cissus fuliginea Kunth
Cissus furcifera Chiov.
Cissus fusifolia Lombardi
Cissus gambiana Desc.
Cissus gardneri Thwaites
Cissus glandulosa J.F.Gmel.
Cissus glaucophylla Hook.f.
Cissus glaucotricha Lombardi
Cissus glossopetala Suess.
Cissus glyptocarpa Thwaites
Cissus gongylodes Burch. ex Baker - marble treevine
Cissus gossweileri Exell & Mendonça
Cissus gossypiifolia Standl.
Cissus grisea Planch.
Cissus guerkeana T.Durand & Schinz
Cissus haematantha Miq.
Cissus hamaderohensis Radcl.-Sm.
Cissus hastata Miq.
Cissus heteroma Turcz.
Cissus heterophylla Poir.
Cissus heterotoma Turcz.
Cissus hexangularis Thorel ex Planch.
Cissus heyneana Steud.
Cissus hookeri Ridl.
Cissus humbertiana Desc.
Cissus humbertii Robyns & Lawalrée
Cissus integrifolia Planch.
Cissus intermedia A.Rich.
Cissus inundata Planch.
Cissus kerrii Craib
Cissus koordersii Amshoff
Cissus kouandeensis A.Chev.
Cissus kouilouensis Desc.
Cissus lamprophylla Gilg & M.Brandt
Cissus lanea Desc.
Cissus latifolia Lam.
Cissus lebrunii Dewit
Cissus leemansii Dewit
Cissus lemurica Desc.
Cissus lenticellata Suess.
Cissus leonardii Dewit
Cissus leucophlea Suess.
Cissus lombardiana Kottaim.
Cissus lonchiphylla Thwaites
Cissus longicymosa Lombardi
Cissus louisii Detoit
Cissus luzoniensis C.L.Li
Cissus macrobotrys Turcz.
Cissus macrophylla Jungh.
Cissus madecassa Desc.
Cissus marcanii Craib
Cissus mauritiana Desc.
Cissus mexicana Moc. & Sessé ex DC.
Cissus microcarpa Vahl
Cissus microdonta Planch.
Cissus miegei Tchoumé
Cissus migeodii Verdc.
Cissus milnei Verdc.
Cissus mirabilis Lombardi
Cissus montana
Cissus morifolia Planch.
Cissus muelleri
Cissus narinensis Lombardi
Cissus neei Croat
Cissus nicaraguensis Lombardi
Cissus nigropilosa Dewit
Cissus nobilis Kuhlm.
Cissus nodosa Blume
Cissus notabilis Doweld
Cissus nymphaeifolia Planch.
Cissus obliqua Ruiz & Pav.
Cissus oblongifolia Merr.
Cissus obovata Vahl
Cissus oliveri Gilg ex Engl.
Cissus oreophila Gilg & M.Brandt
Cissus osaensis Lombardi
Cissus oxyodonta Desc.
Cissus palmata Poir.
Cissus palmatifida Planch.
Cissus paniculata Planch.
Cissus paraensis Lombardi
Cissus parviflora Schult. & Schult.f.
Cissus patellicalyx Lombardi
Cissus paucinervia Lombardi
Cissus paullinifolia Vell.
Cissus peltata Turcz.
Cissus penninervis Planch.
Cissus pentaclada Jackes
Cissus pentagona Roxb.
Cissus perrieri Desc.
Cissus peruviana Lombardi
Cissus petiolata Hook.f.
Cissus phymatocarpa Masinde & L.E.Newton
Cissus picardae Urb.
Cissus pileata Desc.
Cissus pingtungensis S.S.Ying
Cissus pinnatifolia Lombardi
Cissus planchoniana Gilg
Cissus planchonii Gagnep.
Cissus polita Desc.
Cissus polyantha Gilg & M.Brandt
Cissus populnea Guill. & Perr.
Cissus producta Afzel.
Cissus prunifera Desc.
Cissus × pseudocaesia Gilg & M.Brandt
Cissus pseudofuliginea Lombardi
Cissus pseudoguerkeana Verdc.
Cissus pseudopolyantha Mildbr.
Cissus pseudoverticillata Lombardi
Cissus pteroclada Hayata
Cissus pubinervis Blume
Cissus pulcherrima Vell.
Cissus pynaertii De Wild.
Cissus quadrangularis L.
Cissus quadricornuta Hochr.
Cissus quarrei Dewit
Cissus quinquangularis Chiov.
Cissus reniformis Domin
Cissus repanda Vahl
Cissus repens Lam.
Cissus rhamnoidea Planch.
Cissus rheifolia Planch.
Cissus rhodotricha Desc.
Cissus robinsonii Craib
Cissus rondoensis Verdc.
Cissus rostrata Korth. ex Planch.
Cissus rotundifolia Vahl
Cissus rubiginosa Planch.
Cissus rubropilosa Lombardi
Cissus rufescens Guill. & Perr.
Cissus ruginosicarpa Desc.
Cissus ruspolii Gilg
Cissus sagittifer Desc.
Cissus salehi Lodé
Cissus schmitzii Dewit
Cissus sciaphila Gilg
Cissus senegalensis Lavie
Cissus serroniana Lombardi
Cissus serrulatifolia L.O.Williams
Cissus silvestris Tchoumé
Cissus smithiana Planch.
Cissus spinosa Cambess.
Cissus stipulata Vell.
Cissus subaphylla Planch.
Cissus suberecta Bedd.
Cissus subhastata Gagnep.
Cissus subramanyamii B.V.Shetty & Par.Singh
Cissus subrhomboidea Planch.
Cissus sue Gilg & M.Brandt
Cissus sulcicaulis Planch.
Cissus sulfurosa Desc.
Cissus sumatrana Latiff
Cissus surinamensis Desc.
Cissus sylvicola Masinde & L.E.Newton
Cissus terengganuensis Latiff
Cissus teysmannii Miq.
Cissus tiliacea Kunth
Cissus tiliiformis Desc.
Cissus tinctoria Mart.
Cissus touraensis A.Chev.
Cissus trifoliata L.
Cissus trigona Willd.
Cissus triloba Merr.
Cissus triternata Miq.
Cissus trothae Gilg & M.Brandt
Cissus ursina Lombardi
Cissus uvifer Afzel.
Cissus venezuelensis Steyerm.
Cissus verticillata Nicolson & C.E.Jarvis - Seasonvine
Cissus vinosa Jackes
Cissus viridescens Ridl.
Cissus vitiginea L.
Cissus voanonala Suess.
Cissus wallacei Verdc.
Cissus wellmanii Gilg & M.Brandt
Cissus welwitschii Planch.
Cissus wenshanensis C.L.Li
Cissus woodrowii Santapau
Cissus wrightiana Planch.
Cissus xavierensis
Cissus xerophila Lombardi
Cissus youngii Exell & Mendonça
Cissus zombitsy Desc.