Best Foliage
Citrullus lanatus is a sprawling annual vine native to sub-Saharan Africa, producing large fruits with high water content that have been cultivated for food and water in arid regions for thousands of years.
Monstera deliciosa is a large climbing aroid native to the tropical forests of southern Mexico and Central America. Mature leaves develop distinctive splits and oval perforations known as fenestrations, an adaptation thought to allow light to reach lower foliage and withstand wind. The plant produce...
Vanilla planifolia is a climbing orchid native to Mexico and the primary commercial source of natural vanilla flavoring. Its long seed pods, known as vanilla beans, require a labor-intensive curing process to develop their characteristic aroma. In the wild, the flower is pollinated by a specific spe...
Vitis vinifera is a deciduous climbing vine native to the Mediterranean region, Central Europe, and southwestern Asia, and the source of most wine, table, and raisin grapes. Archaeological evidence places its cultivation in the South Caucasus and Near East around 6000 BCE. Thousands of cultivars exi...
Phaseolus vulgaris encompasses both bush and climbing pole-bean forms domesticated in Mesoamerica and the Andes, making it the most economically important bean species globally for fresh and dried seed consumption.
Humulus lupulus is a perennial climbing vine native to Europe, western Asia, and North America, cultivated for its female flower cones known as hops. The cones contain lupulin, a resin providing bitterness and aroma that balances malt sweetness in beer. Hops also have preservative qualities that hav...
Cucurbita pepo is an annual vining plant domesticated in Mesoamerica, one of the oldest cultivated crops in the Americas. It includes a diverse range of cultivar groups: pumpkins, marrows, zucchini, acorn squash, crookneck squash, scallop squash, and ornamental gourds. The species is monoecious, pro...
Actinidia deliciosa is a vigorous woody vine native to China that produces the commercially dominant fuzzy kiwifruit, with large-scale cultivation established in New Zealand during the 20th century making it a global export crop.
Cucumis melo is a vine species native to South Asia and Africa that encompasses dozens of cultivar groups including cantaloupe, honeydew, and casaba melons, distinguished by highly aromatic, sweet flesh.
Vigna unguiculata is a drought-tolerant legume vine domesticated in Africa and among the oldest cultivated crops on the continent, providing critical protein in the diets of millions across sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
Epipremnum aureum is a tropical evergreen vine native to the Society Islands of French Polynesia, particularly Moorea. It is commonly known as pothos or golden pothos and is among the most popular houseplants worldwide due to its tolerance of low light and infrequent watering. The plant is an epiphy...
Cucurbita maxima is a vining annual squash species domesticated in South America, encompassing cultivars such as Hubbard, buttercup, Marina di Chioggia, and many giant pumpkin varieties. Giant pumpkin competitions have produced fruits exceeding 1,000 kg in recent decades, making C. maxima the holder...
Ceropegia woodii is a tuberous trailing vine native to South Africa, widely grown for its small heart-shaped leaves patterned in silver and green on slender purple stems, described by William Henry Harvey in 1881.
Ipomoea batatas, the sweet potato vine, is grown both as a staple food crop of global importance and as an ornamental foliage plant, with cultivars selected for striking purple, chartreuse, or bronze leaves.
Philodendron hederaceum, commonly known as the heartleaf philodendron, is a trailing tropical vine native to Central America and parts of the Caribbean. It features glossy, heart-shaped leaves and is widely cultivated as a houseplant due to its tolerance of indoor conditions and relatively low maint...
Parthenocissus tricuspidata, commonly known as Boston ivy, is a deciduous climbing vine native to East Asia, including Japan, China, and Korea. It belongs to the grape family (Vitaceae) and attaches itself to vertical surfaces using small adhesive pads rather than aerial roots. The vine is known for...
Psophocarpus tetragonolobus is a Southeast Asian legume vine notable for having all plant parts edible—pods, seeds, leaves, flowers, and tubers—with its distinctive four-winged pods giving it the common name winged bean.
Micrommata virescens, commonly called the green huntsman spider, is a European member of the huntsman spider family Sparassidae. Carl Alexander Clerck described the species in 1757. Adults live among grasses, shrubs, and other vegetation, where their green coloration provides camouflage; unlike orb-...
Lycium barbarum is a thorny shrub-vine native to northwestern China in the family Solanaceae, cultivated for centuries for its red berries, known commercially as goji berries and prominent in traditional Chinese medicine.
Actinidia arguta, commonly known as the hardy kiwi, is a perennial climbing vine native to East Asia. It is distinguished from common kiwifruit by its cold tolerance, surviving temperatures down to approximately −30 °C, and its production of small, smooth-skinned, grape-sized fruits that do not requ...
Monstera adansonii is a species of flowering plant in the arum family, Araceae, native to the tropical forests of Central and South America. It is widely cultivated as an indoor houseplant and is characterized by its oval leaves that develop natural holes, or fenestrations, as they mature. Unlike th...
Sechium edule is a perennial tendril-climbing vine domesticated in Mesoamerica whose mild, pear-shaped fruit, roots, shoots, and seeds are all edible and widely consumed across Latin America and parts of Asia.
Scindapsus pictus, commonly known as satin pothos, is a species of flowering plant in the arum family native to Southeast Asia. It is widely cultivated as a houseplant and is distinguished by its matte, heart-shaped leaves decorated with irregular silvery-gray variegation over a dark green backgroun...
Parthenocissus quinquefolia, commonly known as Virginia creeper, is a vigorous deciduous climbing vine native to eastern and central North America. It is distinguished by its compound leaves divided into five leaflets and its ability to scale vertical surfaces using adhesive sucker pads rather than...
Basella alba is a fast-growing succulent vine native to tropical Asia and Africa in the family Basellaceae, widely cultivated as a heat-tolerant leafy vegetable and used as a spinach substitute across tropical regions.
Luffa aegyptiaca is a fast-growing tropical vining plant in the Cucurbitaceae family, widely cultivated across Asia and Africa. It produces elongated, cylindrical green fruits characterized by prominent ridges running along their length. When harvested young and immature, the fruit is consumed as a...
Schisandra chinensis is a woody vine native to northeastern China and Russia whose berries are described as simultaneously sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and pungent, giving it the name wu wei zi in traditional Chinese medicine.
Rhaphidophora tetrasperma is a species of flowering plant in the arum family native to Southern Thailand and Malaysia. It is commonly marketed as a houseplant under names like "mini monstera" due to its pinnately fenestrated leaves that superficially resemble a miniature Monstera deliciosa. The plan...
Dioscorea batatas, commonly known as the Chinese yam or cinnamon vine, is a perennial twining vine native to East Asia. The plant is widely cultivated for its large, starchy, and edible tubers, which have been a staple in Chinese and Japanese agriculture for centuries. When raw, the tubers contain a...
Syngonium podophyllum, commonly known as the arrowhead plant, is a species of aroid native to the tropical rainforests of Central and South America. It is a perennial climbing vine recognized for its distinctively shaped foliage, which begins as simple arrowhead-shaped leaves and gradually develops...
