Muehlenbeckia complexa

Maidenhair vine

Family: Polygonaceae · Type: shrub · Not Native

Maidenhair vine is a naturalized shrub found in coastal California regions including the North Coast and Central Coast in disturbed areas, coastal bluffs, and sandy and rocky places at elevations below 500 meters. Flowering from July to September, this plant produces small yellow-green flowers 2 to 5 millimeters long. Growing as a straggling or climbing shrub up to 5 meters tall, it forms dense tangles with wiry, twisted dark-brown or reddish stems. Its leathery leaves are relatively small, measuring 0.5 to 2 centimeters long with rounded or slightly pointed tips and a nearly smooth surface. The fruit is a shiny, smooth, three-angled brown-black structure 3 to 4 millimeters long that is either hidden within or slightly protruding from the plant.

Habitat: Disturbed areas, coastal bluffs, sandy and rocky places

Bloom period: Jul-Sep

Elevation: < 500 m

Bioregions: NCo, CCo

California counties: Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Alameda, Mendocino, Marin, Santa Barbara, Monterey, Humboldt, Santa Clara

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.