Parthenocissus inserta (A. Kern.) Fritsch, rather than P. vitacea (Knerr) Hitchc, is the correct name for the thicket creeper, a species related to the Virginia creeper, P. quinquefolia. Two species of Parthenocissus are native to eastern and centralNorth America. One of these, to which the common name Virginia creeper is more appropriately applied, is P. quinquefolia (L.) Planch. Its natural range extends from Mexico probably to southern Maine, southern Ontario, and southern Minnesota, although ithas escaped from cultivation farther north. The other species, the nomenclature of which is discussed here, has a more northern and western range, from Pennsylvania, Texas, and California north to ca. 50deg N in Ontario and Manitoba. "False Virginia creeper," "thicket creeper," and "grape-woodbine" have been proposed as vernacular names for the northern species, but none of these names has become widely used. Because of their abundance and the size of the plants, these species are ecologically important, influencing succession and providing cover and food for wildlife. They are widely cultivated as ornamental vines in North America and Europe, although they may sometimes become a problem, as when shrubs or specimen trees are engulfed.
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