Heart-leaf noseburn Heart-leaf noseburn

Vines, 15–20 dm. Stems usually decumbent or twining, rarely erect, gray-green to light green, apex flexuous. Leaves: petiole 15–85 mm; blade ovate to broadly cordate, 4.5–10(–13) × 3.5–10 cm, base cordate, margins serrate, apex acuminate. Inflorescences terminal (often appearing leaf-opposed), glands absent, staminate flowers 20–60 per raceme; staminate bracts 1.5–2 mm. Pedicels: staminate 1.5–2.2 mm, persistent base 0.7–1 mm; pistillate 2.5–3 mm in fruit. Staminate flowers: sepals 3, green, 0.7–1 mm; stamens 3, filaments 0.2–0.5 mm. Pistillate flowers: sepals elliptic to ovate, 1.5–2 mm; styles connate 1/4–1/3 length; stigmas papillate. Capsules 11–13 mm wide. Seeds dark brown, 4.3–5.3 mm.

Flowering spring–fall; fruiting summer–late fall. Rich deciduous forests, riverbanks, rocky thickets; 50–500 m; Ala., Ark., Fla., Ga., Ill., Ind., Ky., La., Miss., Mo., Okla., Tenn., Tex.

Both the morphology and ecology of Tragia cordata make it unique among American members of Tragia. The relatively large, heart-shaped leaves separate it from the other Tragia in the flora area; it is the only twining species of Tragia found in the deciduous forest of the Midwest.