Cat's claw creeper (Dolichandra unguis-cati) (Bignoneaceae)
Afrikaans: Katteklouranker
The weed
The exotic vine Dolichandra unguis-cati (formerly Macfadyena unguis-cati) is a woody, evergreen creeper that has become a significant threat to biodiversity in many sensitive ecosystems around South Africa. The vine is originally native to central, and tropical South America, including the West Indies, but has become invasive in a number of regions of Southern Africa, Australia, New Zealand, India, Mauritius, China, New Caledonia and the USA, including Hawaii. This extensive range has been facilitated through the horticultural trade which distributed the plant as an ornamental. Showy yellow flowers coupled with its climbing habit made the fast-growing creeper ideal as a hedging plant or natural screen for unsightly walls and buildings. The plants' ability to 'climb' is facilitated by its distinctive leaves which consist of two leaflets and a modified three-forked tendril. Each tendril is tipped with a tiny hardened hook which can attach to most surfaces enabling the vine to grow up walls, tree trunks and over other vegetation. It is these tendrils that resemble claws and the feature from which the plant draws its name.
Within South Africa, although spreading, cat's claw creeper is considered to be in the early stages of invasion due to its relatively small distribution. Nevertheless, the weed has formed some very dense infestations in Gauteng, Kwazulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the North West. Within these provinces the weed has become a significant invader of cultivated orchards and plantations, riparian corridors, natural forest remnants and disturbed areas such as roadsides and urban spaces. Vigorous growth allows the vine to sprawl over other vegetation and, through a combination of both shading and weight, it can kill even the largest canopy trees. In the absence of climbing support, individual stems grow along the ground resulting in a thick carpet which precludes the growth and seed germination of indigenous understorey vegetation.
