Published in Scientific Papers. Series B, Horticulture, Volume LIX
Written by Balázs VÉGH, Gábor SCHMIDT, Magdolna DIÓSZEGI

There are 15 species in the genus of Parthenocissus (Krüssmann, 1989), some of them (Parthenocissus inserta, P. quinquefolia, P. tricuspidata) were used as hardy, decorative outdoor ornamental climbing shrubs in Hungary (Priszter, 1997; Tóth 2012). These invasive plants can spread spontaneously and cause ecological, maintenance problems in several gardens and public parks, among others in the Buda Arboretum, were different kind of characteristics of four Parthenocissus taxa were examined during two years (2012 and 2013). Biological features of reproduction (crop yield, seed viability, germination capacity), aptitude of spontaneous spreading (ground-space and number of plants, density of seedling under the mother plant) and maturation (coloration, shedding and soluble dry weight of fruits) were examined to determine their invasion capacity. P. tricuspidata produced the highest and P. inserta developed the lowest number of fruits. Seed viability was the largest in the case of P. quinquefolia (100%), and every taxon has got high capacity of germination (especially if the soft part of fruits – which usually contain germination inhibitors – was removed). The highest numbers of individuals were obtained on the case of P. quinquefolia (35 plants), this species covered 499 m2 horizontal and 157 m2 vertical area. The second was P. tricuspidata with 17 individuals, 158 m2 horizontal and 2603 m2 vertical area, followed after the other 2 species (P. inserta, P. tricuspidata 'Veitchii’) with 143 and 32 m2 ground-space covered by 17 and 4 plants. Fruits of P. tricuspidata 'Veitchii’ were colored the earliest and fallen the latest (unlike P. inserta, which produce the latest fruit-colorization and the earliest shedding). There were not significant differences between soluble dry weight of every Parthenocissus fruits (6,3-7,6%).Taxa with more individuals and ranges were qualified as more invasive than the other ones with lower values. This qualification was directly proportional to the number of seedlings under the originally planted parents as well as the fruit quantity and the germinable of seeds, but not correlated with soluble dry weight and taste of fruits (in which there were not significantly differences between the taxa).

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