July 18: Pepper vine
Jul. 19th, 2010 06:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
neverspentI've seen these vines around the city for years, in lots of places. I know they have clusters of tiny, waxy white flowers in the summer, beloved of bees and wasps, then they start to grow green berries, and by late summer to fall, the berries have turned shiny black. The leaves are arranged in threes and are distinctively toothed. I've never been able to identify the vines, though. They don't grow wild in the hills where I grew up, so I never learned their name.
But recently I splurged and bought a field guide to local trees, vines, and shrubs which I've had my eye on for years. It has a lot of specimens listed, but the photography isn't great -- a lot of the photos were taken in bright sunlight from too far away, so the colors are washed out and it's hard to see characteristic small features. Still, field guides of shrubs and vines aren't easy to come by. Well, after three times browsing the photos in the book, I found my vine: pepper vine. Doesn't seem like it should have been hard!
But recently I splurged and bought a field guide to local trees, vines, and shrubs which I've had my eye on for years. It has a lot of specimens listed, but the photography isn't great -- a lot of the photos were taken in bright sunlight from too far away, so the colors are washed out and it's hard to see characteristic small features. Still, field guides of shrubs and vines aren't easy to come by. Well, after three times browsing the photos in the book, I found my vine: pepper vine. Doesn't seem like it should have been hard!