This species has often been misidentified as Anredera baselloides (Kunth) Baill.

Common Name: Madeira Vine

General Information

Anredera cordifolia is a fast-growing, evergreen perennial climbing plant producing stems up to 9 metres long that support themselves by twining around the thin branches of other plants[].
Widely grown as an ornamental, the plant is also utilized for its edible roots and leaves and its medicinal properties.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

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Range

S. America - Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela.

Habitat

Naturalized in Texas, California and Florida in southern N. America where it grows in disturbed areas, fencerows and roadsides from sea level to 500 metres[].

Properties

Weed Potential	Yes
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Evergreen Perennial Climber
Height	9.00 m
Growth Rate	Fast
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of subtropical to tropical areas. It is found in areas where mean temperatures range from 20 - 30°c in the hot season and from 10 - 30°c in the cool season. Average annual rainfall varies from 500 - 2,000mm. The stems are killed off in cold weather, but the plant can survive by means of its tuberous rootstocks and regrow when the weather is warmer.
Requires a well-drained humus-rich soil and a position in full sun or good indirect light[]. Established plants are drought tolerant[].
The plant has escaped from cultivation and become naturalized in many areas of the tropics to warm temperate zones, where it can outcompete native vegetation. It smothers trees and other vegetation it grows on and can easily break branches and bring down entire trees on its own[]. The plant is notoriously difficult to control because of its rapid growth and very effective vegetative reproduction by means of the tubers[, ].
This plant seldom, if ever, produces seeds[].

Edible Uses

Root - raw or cooked[]. Rich in starch, it is boiled and eaten like potatoes[, ]. The raw root is crisp and pleasant when first put in the mouth, but soon degenerates into a mucilaginous mass described by some people as 'like eating catarrh' and in rather less flattering terms by others![]. When well baked, the root loses this quality and is quite pleasant to eat[].

Leaves - raw or cooked[, ]. Succulent and slightly mucilaginous[]. Eaten in salads or cooked as a potherb[]. Used as a spinach[].

Medicinal

The plant has been shown to have anti-inflammatory, anti-ulcer, and liver-protective effects[].

An aqueous extract of the plant has been shown to be strongly hypoglycaemic[]. (Reported under the name Anredera baselloides).

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - sow in containers. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant out when large enough
Softwood cuttings.
Division of the tubers

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