Balloon vine
Cardiospermum grandiflorum
family
Sapindaceae
origin
Exotic
declaration
Category 3 Restricted Matter (Biosecurity Act 2014)
Must not be distributed or disposed. This means it must not be released into the environment unless the distribution or disposal is authorised in a regulation or under a permit.
Common names
Balloon vine, Balloonvine, Heart seed vine, Heartseed, Large balloon creeper, Showy balloon vine.
A climbing plant with stems that are usually covered with stiff hairs when they are young. Its leaves are compound, with leaflets arranged in three groups of three, and often have a tendril in their forks. The leaflets (2-8 cm long and 1-5 cm wide) have coarsely toothed margins. Its small white flowers are borne in clusters at the end of stalks that have two small curved tendrils near their tips. Its very distinctive large, balloon-shaped, papery capsules (45-65 mm long and 30-45 mm wide) have three compartments, each containing a single hard seed.
Impact
Impact
Balloon vine (Cardiospermum grandiflorum) is a significant environmental weed in eastern New South Wales and south-eastern Queensland, and is currently listed as a priority environmental weed in four Natural Resource Management Regions.It is common along creeks, near the margins of rainforests, and in moist gullies in the coastal districts of Queensland and New South Wales. It also grows along disturbed creeklines in south-western Western Australia. Balloon vine (Cardiospermum grandiflorum) grows rapidly into the tops of trees and can smother and kill trees, shrubs and groundcover plants. It forms a thick curtain of stems and leaves which excludes light and inhibits photosynthesis in the native plants below. The weight of this vegetation can also contribute to canopy collapse and ecosystem destruction. Balloon vine (Cardiospermum grandiflorum) can be seen growing in most of the riverine rainforest remnants around Brisbane. These rainforest remnants are small and any reduction of their edges exposes them to greater risk of weed invasion and a number of other threats. This species is also one of the exotic vines that has resulted in "invasion of exotic vines and scramblers" being declared a "key threatening process" in New South Wales.It is also considered to be very invasive and widespread on Rarotonga, in the Cook Islands. For more information from the Queensland Governement
Location
Location
Characteristics
Characteristics
Similar Species
Similar Species
Balloon vine (Cardiospermum grandiflorum) is a significant environmental weed in eastern New South Wales and south-eastern Queensland, and is currently listed as a priority environmental weed in four Natural Resource Management Regions.It is common along creeks, near the margins of rainforests, and in moist gullies in the coastal districts of Queensland and New South Wales. It also grows along disturbed creeklines in south-western Western Australia. Balloon vine (Cardiospermum grandiflorum) grows rapidly into the tops of trees and can smother and kill trees, shrubs and groundcover plants. It forms a thick curtain of stems and leaves which excludes light and inhibits photosynthesis in the native plants below. The weight of this vegetation can also contribute to canopy collapse and ecosystem destruction. Balloon vine (Cardiospermum grandiflorum) can be seen growing in most of the riverine rainforest remnants around Brisbane. These rainforest remnants are small and any reduction of their edges exposes them to greater risk of weed invasion and a number of other threats. This species is also one of the exotic vines that has resulted in "invasion of exotic vines and scramblers" being declared a "key threatening process" in New South Wales.It is also considered to be very invasive and widespread on Rarotonga, in the Cook Islands. For more information from the Queensland Governement
