Ripogonum scandens, commonly known as supplejack and kareao, is a species of climbing forest vine in the family Ripogonaceae. It is endemic to New Zealand. Its range mainly covers the North and South Islands, it also occurs on some offshore islands. Red globe-shaped fruits, which hang from the oppositely arranged leaves, are eaten and dispersed by birds. These fruits are edible, and so are the newly formed shoots at the end of the vines.
Ripogonum scandens (supplejack) is an evergreen climbing forest vine (liane), reaching lengths of up to 18 metres (60 feet) long.[1] The rhizomes are stout, woody, and 30–60mm (1.2–2.4in) in diameter. The stems can be several metres long, about 15–20mm (0.59–0.79in) in diameter, seldomly branched, almost black in colour, with nodes about 100–200mm (3.9–7.9in) apart. Leaves are mostly arranged opposite to each other, usually 55–160×20–60mm long, variably green in colour, coriaceous (leather-like) in character, narrow-ovate to oblong in shape.
Flowering typically occurs in December and January.[2] The petioles are about 10–15m (33–49ft) long. Its inflorescences (flower clusters) are 100–150mm (3.9–5.9in) long. Its pedicels are about 5–9mm (0.20–0.35in) long. Its spreading tepals are green in colour. Its filamentous stamens are about 2mm (0.079in) long. Its anthers are greenish to yellow in colour, linear-oblong in character, and about 3.0–5.0×1.0–1.5mm long. Its ovaries are globe-shaped, about 1.5mm (0.059in) in diameter.[1] Fruiting typically occurs from March onswards.[2] Fruits are also globe-shaped, bright red in colour, 10–15mm (0.39–0.59in) in diameter; the pericarps are thin and fleshy. R. scandens has a diploid chromosome count of 22.[1]
Gallery
R. scandens climbing up a tree
Woody brown vines of R. scandens
Flowering inflorescence (flower cluster)
Fruiting specimen
Taxonomy
Classification
Ripogonum scandens is a species of plant in family Ripogonaceae. Ripogonum scandens is the sole member of the genus Ripogonum in New Zealand, with several members of the genus found in Australia and New Guinea.[3] The taxonomic placement of the species is debatable, and has been formerly placed in the family Smilacaceae or Liliaceae.[4] In 1985, a study established the family Ripogonaceae and placed the sole genus Ripogonum in it.[5] The glabrous foliage and other details of the plant, are comparable to those of R. danesii and R. papuanum, found in Australia and New Guinea, respectively.[1] Fossil leaves of Ripogonum from the Manuherikia Group are indistinguishable from the extant species, R. scandens.[6]
The etymology (word origin) of R. scandens's genus name, Ripogonum (alternatively spelled Rhipogonum), is unclear. One possibility is that it from the Greekrhipos, meaning 'wickerwork', and gonu meaning 'jointed', in reference to the cane-like stems.[8][4] Another possibility suggests that the genus name could mean "osier with knees".[4] The specific epithet (second part of the scientific name), scandens, meaning 'climbing', in reference to the climbing habit of the species.[8] The common English language name supplejack is used to describe tough, woody climbing plants, and is a name used for numerous unrelated plants. The Māori language name kareao is of uncertain etymology, but the name pirita has cognates in other Polynesian languages, typically 'pilita', which is a word used to describe the wild yam (Dioscorea pentaphylla).[8]
Ripogonum scandens's fruits appear to be dispersed by fruit-eating animals (frugivores).[9]R. scandens's fruits are dispersed by numerous bird species. The kererū (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae) and blackbirds (Turdus merula) are two bird species that consume fruits of R. scandens.[10][11] The fruits are also eaten by the tūī (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae), and are one of the main winter food sources for the North Island kōkako (Callaeas wilsoni).[12] In addition to the fruits, kererū are also known to feed on adult leaves.[13]
Ripogonum scandens is pollinated by either insects or the wind. MacMillan (1972) noted that some flowers have rudimentary ovaries, meaning there is no clear barrier to self-pollination.[14]
Ripogonum scandens is typically found in coastal to montane forests.[19]R. scandens tends to be most common in forests that are dominated by hardwoods and podocarps. It is commonly associated with beech (Nothofagus) in Fiordland.[24]R. scandens's maximum altitudinal ranges have been recorded as 900m (3,000ft) and 570m (1,870ft) in the North and South Islands, respectively.[23]R. scandens will inhabit a wide range of soil types such as red-brown loam, yellow-brown pumiceous soils, and alluvial soils. It is also been known to be able to withstand swampy forest conditions, where the soil can be occasionally flooded.[19][24]R. scandens grows in both sunny and shady areas.[25]
Uses
In European culture
In many parts of the woods [sic] are so over-run with supplejacks, that it is scarcely possible to force one's way amongst them. I have seen several which were fifty or sixty fathoms long.
Ripogonum scandens was valued by Māori and European settlers, primarily for its stems which were valued for their length, strength, and flexibility.[26] The greatest value of R. scandens was perhaps its use in construction; the woody stems have proven to be useful in the making of baskets, binding together fences, canes, canoes, eel traps, fenders, houses, huts, ladders, rafts, sheep hurdles, walking sticks, and so forth.[8][25]
Early European settlers also noted the intertwining characteristic of R. scandens, including the British explorer James Cook, who observed it while anchored in Dusky Sound. The intertwining characteristic is considered by many authors to be an inconvenience for movement in forests.[8] The tangling characteristic of the vines has also been used to assist people descending cliff faces, and has been experimented with by the explorers Thomas Brunner and Charles Heaphy.[8][2]
Ripogonum scandens was one of the first native plants to receive a common name from Europeans, known as 'supplejack', which was first coined in 1773 during Cook's second voyage to New Zealand. The etymology of the word is uncertain, but it is possible that some of his crew named it 'supplejack', a 'jack' being a sailor.[2] The roots of the plant had some medicinal purposes to settlers, and was sometimes termed 'bush sarsaparilla'.[27]
In Māori culture
Ripogonum scandens is present in Māori mythology, in which, the vines are considered to be the tail of the god of eels, Tunaroa. The origin of this came from revenge for disrespecting the demigod Māui's wife. Therefore, Māui ambushed Tunaroa and killed him. Tunaroa's blood coloured birds and plants red, his body became many eel and fish species, and the tip of his tail became R. scandens, which could be used by people to create traps for eels.[3] Other Māori traditions describe R. scandens as a plant created by Patupaiarehe, supernatural beings, as a defence for their forest homes.[3]R. scandens's use in construction was also valued by Māori people for house-building and waka (canoe) construction. The vines are also a traditional building material to create traps for eels, kōkopu and kiore.[8]
Ripogonum scandens has also had some medicinal uses for Māori people, such as the roots being used to treat multiple diseases. There are also records of decoctions made that are used to procure abortions.[8] The fruits are edible, although most of the fruit consists of the seed, the fruits have been described as "quite tasteless" by New Zealand botanist and horticulturalist Lawrie Metcalf.[2][8] The young shoots are a more important food source, they have been nicknamed 'bush asparagus' in English, and they taste like green beans.[8]
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