Field Guide

Trees, Shrubs and Woody Vines

Showing 1 - 10 of 12 results
Media
Illustration of bristly greenbrier leaves, flowers, fruit
Species Types
Scientific Name
Smilax hispida (syn. S. tamnoides var. hispida)
Description
Bristly greenbrier is a stout woody vine with bristlelike black spines, climbing high by tendrils to a length of 40 feet. It is the most common greenbrier in Missouri and is found statewide.
Media
Illustration of greenbrier leaves, flowers, fruits
Species Types
Scientific Name
Smilax glauca
Description
Greenbrier is a slender, spiny, woody vine climbing by coiled tendrils. Its leaves can be broadly heart-shaped, oval, or lance-shaped. The leaf undersurface is smooth and notably whitened, silvery, or blue-gray with a waxy coating.
Media
Illustration of summer grape leaves, flowers, fruit
Species Types
Scientific Name
Vitis aestivalis
Description
Summer grape is a vigorous, woody, wild grapevine climbing to a height of 35 feet. It grows mostly in the southern two-thirds of Missouri, often in drier situations than many other grape species.
Media
Illustration of winter grape leaves, flowers, fruit
Species Types
Scientific Name
Vitis cinerea
Description
Winter grape is a wild grapevine that can climb up to 50 feet. It occurs in low woods and along streams, in thickets, and in fencerows. It’s common in the southern two-thirds of Missouri.
Media
Illustration of frost grape leaves, flowers, fruit
Species Types
Scientific Name
Vitis vulpina
Description
Frost grape is a vigorous vine climbing to 60 feet in length using tendrils. It is scattered statewide, growing in bottomlands, along streams, in low, wet woods, at bases of bluffs, and in thickets.
Media
Illustration of riverbank grape leaves, flowers, fruit
Species Types
Scientific Name
Vitis riparia
Description
Riverbank grape is a woody wild grape vine climbing to 75 feet by means of tendrils. It occurs nearly statewide but is absent from most of the Ozark plateau.
Media
Leaves of riverbank grape in a thick growth of the vines
Species Types
Scientific Name
Vitis species
Description
Eight species of grapes in the genus Vitis are native or naturalized in Missouri. All bear edible fruits. Like their relatives elsewhere, they have important connections to humans and to nature.
Media
Illustration of Missouri gooseberry leaves, flowers, fruits
Species Types
Scientific Name
Ribes missouriense
Description
Missouri gooseberry is our state’s most widespread and common gooseberry. People brave its prickly stems to collect its tart, tasty fruits to make pies, jams, and jellies.
Media
Illustration of overcup oak leaf.
Species Types
Scientific Name
Quercus lyrata
Description
Overcup oak is fairly easy to identify. The acorns are almost completely covered by their knobby cups. The leaves have long, narrow lobes and wide sinuses. In Missouri, it grows naturally only in wet forests along the Mississippi and Meramec rivers.
Media
Illustration of red mulberry leaves and fruits.
Species Types
Scientific Name
Morus rubra
Description
Red mulberry is native to Missouri and North America. You can distinguish it from the introduced white mulberry tree, which is a noxious weed, by its leaves and fruits.
See Also

About Trees, Shrubs and Woody Vines in Missouri

There are no sharp dividing lines between trees, shrubs, and woody vines, or even between woody and nonwoody plants. “Wood” is a type of tissue made of cellulose and lignin that many plants develop as they mature — whether they are “woody” or not. Trees are woody plants over 13 feet tall with a single trunk. Shrubs are less than 13 feet tall, with multiple stems. Vines require support or else sprawl over the ground.