About Calycocarpum lyonii (Pursh) Nutt. ex A.Gray
Calycocarpum, commonly called cupseed, is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the Menispermaceae family. The only currently accepted species in this genus is Calycocarpum lyonii, which is endemic to the southeastern United States. This species has been documented growing in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, southeastern Kansas, Missouri, southern Illinois, southern Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, northwestern Florida, and southern South Carolina. It grows primarily along stream banks in deciduous forests, at elevations below 350 meters. Calycocarpum lyonii is a vine that climbs over other vegetation, frequently reaching all the way to the crowns of tall forest trees. Its leaves are broad and pentagonally lobed, measuring up to 30 cm across and 25 cm long. Flowers grow in racemes or panicles that can reach up to 35 cm in length. The plant produces drupes that are green when fresh, turn black when dried, are shaped spherical to ellipsoid, and grow up to 25 mm long.
